With 80-94 win at ASVEL, Reds clinch home-court advantage

Olympiacos Piraeus will return to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs with home-court advantage after downing host LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 80-94 on Friday. Olympiacos raised its record to 18-9 to take over third place while already-eliminated ASVEL slipped to 8-18.

Regular Season

Round 32 of 34

game Olympiacos Piraeus vs LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne

Regular Season

LDLC ASVEL VilleurbanneASV

8094

Olympiacos PiraeusOLY

Overview

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The teams went back and forth on the scoreboard until the Reds took the first double-digit lead early in the fourth quarter and wasn't challenged after that. Tyler Dorsey poured in 21 points to lead the Reds. Sasha Vezenkov had a double-double of 18 points, 10 rebounds and Kostas Sloukas neared one with 15 points, 9 assists. Kostas Papanikolaou added 11 points on perfect 3-for-3 shooting from the arc. For ASVEL, Matthew Strazel hit 5 three-pointers to lead his team with 16 points. Youssoupha Fall and Raymar Morgan, making his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut, added 12 points each. And Dylan Osetkowski added 11.

Vezenkov and Dorsey scored for the visitors in close before Osetkowski got ASVEL on the scoreboard. Papanikolaou drilled the game's first 2 triples from the same spot to make it 2-10 before Youssoupha Fall slammed for ASVEL. Marcos Knight downed ASVEL'S first three-pointer before Thomas Walkup scored, stole and fed Vezenkov at 7-14. Jones found his first basket and Knight hit free throws, but Dorsey kept Olympiacos up 11-16. Matthew Strazel walked in and hit from deep then followed a timeout with a triple-and-one to suddenly put ASVEL in front, 18-16. Dorsey and Antoine Diot traded triples before Kostas Sloukas fed Vezenkov for a 21-21 tie. Kostas Antetokounmpo exchanged triples with Dorsey and then Morgan made his first EuroLeague shot ever, a turnaround jumper. Moustapha Fall matched it for Olympiacos to leave a 26-26 tie after 10 minutes.

Antetokounmpo detonated a put-back dunk to open the second quarter. Papanikolaou returned to his spot on the wing to put Olympiacos back up and Livio Jean-Charles dunked for the visitors at 28-31. Diot found Antetokounmpo for a lane jumper before 16-year-old Zaccharie Risacher swished his first EuroLeague points ever from the corner to put ASVEL ahead. Papanikolaou's fastbreak dunk tied it 33-33 and another by Shaquielle McKissic sent the Reds in front. Jean-Charles kept it going with a three-point play to make it 35-40 before Osetkowski scored 8 points in a row to take ASVEL in front 43-42. Jean-Charles converted another three-point play before McKissic hit a long jumper to put Olympiacos back ahead, 43-47, at the half.

Dorsey's third three-pointer opened the third quarter and Knight responded with a jumper at 45-50 before leaving the game injured. Youssoupha Fall finished a break and downed free throws for ASVEL to make it 49-50. Moustapha Fall answered the free throws but Jones kept ASVEL close and Diot tied it up with a long-range strike. Jones took a 56-54 lead for ASVEL with a jumper but Sloukas matched him and Vezenkov buried a triple to make it 56-59. Moustapha Fall and Sloukas extended the Olympiacos advantage to 58-63. Strazel reappeared with a rainbow triple to revive ASVEL then went to the opposite wing and did it again, flipping the lead again, 64-63. Vezenkov took it back for Olympiacos with a triple and Sloukas followed him, restoring a 64-69 lead for the visitors after 30 minutes.

Hassan Martin, Vezenkov and Dorsey traded baskets with Morgan early in the fourth quarter, but when Sloukas converted a three-point play, Olympiacos had the game's first double-digit lead, 68-78. Youssoupha Fall single-handedly pulled ASVEL back to within 74-80, but Vezenkov and Dorsey hit back-to-back baskets to restore a 74-84 advantage. Strazel soon hit again from deep, but when Dorsey dropped a runner, time was running out on the hosts. Olympiacos lengthened its lead to the biggest at the finish and celebrated the fact that Game 1 of the playoffs will happen at Peace and Friendship Stadium.