Alpha Diallo, Kevarrius Hayes and Daniel Theis anchored a decisive effort for the visitors
Defense delivers as Monaco grinds out road win over Paris
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 22 of 38
Regular Season
Paris BasketballPBB
8795
AS MonacoASM
Overview
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Everybody knows about the offensive firepower of AS Monaco. Against Paris Basketball, a team it torched for 125 points earlier this season in a EuroLeague record for a non-overtime game, that reputation would normally take center stage. On Thursday night, though, it was Monaco’s defense that decided the outcome.
Monaco left Adidas Arena with an 87-95 win, led by Mike James’s 23 points. James set the tone early, scoring a club-record 17 points in the first quarter, but from there the visitors leaned increasingly on their defensive identity.
Alpha Diallo and Jaron Blossomgame controlled the perimeter, limiting Paris to a season-low 19 three-point attempts and just 7 makes from deep, its second-lowest figure in 2025-26. Diallo – who continues to build a strong case to be named the EuroLeague Best Defender, an award several GMs expect him to win – was instrumental. Inside, Kevarrius Hayes and Daniel Theis protected the rim, denying Paris the easy finishes that fuel its pace and confidence.
“I made some shots early that got us going,” James told EuroLeague TV afterward. “On the road, you want to calm the game down a bit. I think that helped us settle into the rest of the game.”
Monaco led for the final 35 minutes, though Paris briefly drew level twice – at 27-27 in the second quarter and 59-59 in the third. Each time, Monaco answered immediately, turning Paris turnovers into timely offense.
Diallo delivered one of the game’s defining plays late, stepping in to draw a charge from Nadir Hifi – who picked up his fifth foul in the process – that effectively sealed the result. Still, he acknowledged how difficult these matchups can be.
“Paris is always a tricky game for us,” Diallo said. “You’ve got to keep up with their pace and their style of play. I’m happy we came in and got the job done. We played really good defense and held them to not a lot of threes. We’ve just got to keep that going.”
Head coach Vassilis Spanoulis echoed that sentiment, pointing first to Monaco’s work on the arc.
“Except for a couple of threes by Hifi, we did a great job in the first half,” Spanoulis commented. “Usually they take 33 or 34 threes – the most in the league – and make the most, or second most. Tonight they took 19 and made 7.”
The rim protection was just as important. Hayes, returning to Adidas Arena after playing there last season, blocked 4 shots, while Theis added 3 more. Together, they discouraged Paris from attacking the paint.
“We protected the rim very well,” Spanoulis said. “The two big guys had 7 blocks. We shared the ball, took care of it and played with the right team mindset.”
For Spanoulis, the performance was another rebuttal to the idea that Monaco is simply an offense-first team.
“We’re a team that plays defense and offense,” he said. “We’re a two-way team, and that’s how we want to be until the end of the season.”
The win extends Monaco’s streak to six, a run that includes road victories at FC Barcelona, Valencia Basket and Paris, along with a home win over Real Madrid. At 15-7, Monaco sits atop the EuroLeague standings – at least for now – as it navigates a demanding stretch of the season with authority.
Paris, meanwhile, is running out of margin. At 7-14 and 17th in the table, it sits well behind Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (12-10) in the final play-in spot and will need a dramatic late surge to return to the postseason.
Monaco has now won three straight against Paris and swept the season series against the capital club for the first time, but complacency is not part of the message.
“You’ve got to come in with that underdog mentality,” Diallo said. “We weren’t picked to be in the Final Four. We've seen that, and we use it as motivation. I do, for sure.”
