The French side has won both of its home games so far this season
ASVEL reels off 17-0 fourth-quarter run to rally past Baskonia, 76-69
Theo Maledon had a night for the ages as he guided LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne to a thrilling 76-69 comeback victory at home over Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in Round 4 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season. ASVEL improved to 2-2 on the young season, the same record for Baskonia, which had just eight players see game time after having beaten Real Madrid earlier in the week.
Maledon scored a career-high 25 points, netting 5 three-pointers, as he helped ASVEL reel off a 17-0 run in the fourth quarter immediately after having watched Baskonia go from 11 points down to 11 points up with a 9-31 surge. Neal Sako was the only other ASVEL player in double figures scoring, contributing 14 points and 12 rebounds for his third straight double-double. Before ASVEL’s big punch, Chima Moneke looked to be the hero for Baskonia with 18 points and 8 rebounds while Donta Hall had 15 points. ASVEL limited Markus Howard to just 7 points.
David Lighty and Maledon both hit triples as ASVEL scored on its first three possessions for an 8-0 lead, forcing Baskonia to call a timeout after just 81 seconds. The guests needed more than two minutes to score and a Paris Lee triple had ASVEL up 13-2. Sako tallied his third basket as the hosts’ advantage grew to 20-6. Baskonia did finish the quarter strong with the final six points to trail 20-12 after 10 minutes.
Maledon started the scoring in the second quarter and Sako added two free throws as the ASVEL cushion was back to 13 points, 27-14. Baskonia’s main man Howard finally scored his first points on a layup around the midway mark in the quarter to make it 29-20. ASVEL answered with the next five points and the gap was 14 points again. Kamar Baldwin drained back-to-back triples to trim it to 36-26 and ASVEL led 38-26 at the break.
Maledon hit ASVEL’s first score in the second half and it was 40-28. That is when Howard started heating up – a baseline jumper, assist and three-pointer as Baskonia pulled within 42-36. Sako and Maledon continued their great games and the lead was 47-36. Moneke took over with nine points in Baskonia’s 4-18 run to take the lead – the forward hitting a three-pointer to give the guests their first lead of the game at 51-54. And it was 53-54 after 30 minutes.
Moneke was not slowed by the break with a jumper and three-pointer as Baskonia surged ahead 53-61. ASVEL did not score its first points of the frame until the 6:44-minute mark with a Maledon triple. Moneke scored another basket and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot drained a triple as the hosts led 56-67. ASVEL did not let its head hang and reeled off 17 straight points – including two free throws and a three-pointer by Maledon after an unsportsmanlike foul on Hall and two scores by Edwin Jackson to go 73-67 ahead. Hall stopped the bleeding, but Maledon delivered the backbreaker three-pointer with 53 seconds for the final score.