Olympiacos Piraeus is heading to the Final Four after downing AS Monaco 94-88 in a memorable Game 5 thriller at the Peace and Friendship Stadium to win their series 3-2.
Olympiacos outlasts Monaco in Game 5 thriller, 94-88

The early stages were low scoring but both offenses exploded in the second quarter, with a partial score of 30-35 over those ten minutes giving Monaco a 41-48 interval lead. Olympiacos rallied after the break and there were several lead changes as the game moved towards a thrilling conclusion. Kostas Sloukas inspired Olympiacos through the latter stages, and the Reds held on to spark scenes of joyous celebrations. Shaquielle McKissic scored 16 points in the second quarter in his total of 18, and Sloukas had 13 of his 15 points in the final period. Thomas Walkup scored 17 points for the hosts, and Tyler Dorsey added 16. Monaco’s Mike James led all scorers with 24 points, also dishing 10 assists. Yakuba Ouattara scored 15, Paris Lee added 14 and Dwayne Bacon netted 12 in defeat.
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Kostas Papanikolaou scored the first 4 points before Donatas Motiejunas got Monaco on the scoreboard from close range. Sasha Vezenkov netted inside but Ouattara and Motiejunas bettered that with triples for Monaco’s first lead, 6-8. Mike James grabbed his first basket with a driving layup to extend the lead, completing a 0-8 run which Thomas Walkup ended from deep. Lee hit straight back with his own triple, and Papanikolaou’s free throws made it 11-13 after ten minutes as both defenses held firm.
Dwayne Bacon’s step-back jumper-and-one made started the second quarter, and Donta Hall’s put-back dunk made it 11-18. Lee’s three-point play pushed Monaco further ahead, but Hassan Martin answered with a driving layup-and-one sparked Olympiacos, 16-21. The red-hot Lee and McKissic both netted two three-pointers either side of a Hall dunk-and-one, before Tyler Dorsey and Outtara traded triples to make it 25-35. McKissic kept on leading Olympiacos with a three-point play and a driving layup, but Will Thomas’s fadeaway jumper and Bacon’s layup kept Monaco ahead, 30-41. McKissic netted another three-point play, and Dorsey did the same to narrow the gap to 36-41. Dorsey drove inside to score again, but Outtara bettered that with third and fourth triples, before Walkup was also on target from deep to make it 41-48 at halftime.
Moustapha Fall’s layup opened the second half scoring, but Ouattara bettered that with another three-ball. James scored a pair of mid-range strikes, but Vezenkov and Walkup hit from deep and the latter added a floater and a dunk to make it 55-55 after a 7-0 personal run. Bacon’s triple and James free throws got Monaco back ahead, but Dorsey scored twice for another tie, 60-60. Lee and Martin were on target inside, before Danilo Andjusic scored 5 points in a row and James beat the third quarter buzzer from the corner to make it 66-70.
Walkup and Thomas netted inside to open the final frame, but Vezenkov made a four-point play to tie it up, 72-72. James sank three three-pointers but Kostas Sloukas answered with a triple for another tie. Inside baskets from McKissic, James, Martin, Motiejunas and Sloukas forced 5 lead changes in just over a minute, and Olympiacos led 82-81 with 4 minutes left. Fall’s dunk extended the lead, but Bacon answered from mid-range. Sloukas made free throws and added a triple for an 89-83 lead, but James responded with a rainbow triple. Sloukas returned to the foul line to make it 91-86 with 100 seconds left, and Thomas’s inside score was betted by Dorsey’s three-ball for a 94-88 lead. Monaco committed a 24-second violation and the Reds held firm in the final seconds.