AS Monaco held off Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 70-62 in a close battle in the principality on Tuesday night. Monaco raced into a double-digit lead early in the second quarter but Zvezda used a 0-10 run to get back into the game, and it was 41-36 at half-time. The visitors started the second half strong to briefly move ahead, but Monaco battled back and led throughout a fiercely contested but low-scoring fourth quarter.
Diallo helps Monaco hold off Zvezda in tight battle, 70-62

The excellent Alpha Diallo led Monaco all over the court with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. Donatas Motiejunas added 14 points and 8 rebounds, and Danilo Andjusic scored 12. Nate Wolters paired 18 points with 5 assists for Zvezda, Nikola Kalinic scored 14 and Ognjen Kuzmic had 10. Monaco improves to 3-3, while Zvezda – which only scored 9 points in the fourth quarter – drops to 2-4.
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Diallo netted the first field goal and Andjusic added a triple, but Kuzmic scored Zvezda’s first 4 points to make it 5-4. Kalinic briefly gave Zvezda its first lead, but Andjusic hit another triple and added free throws for a 12-10 lead. Diallo scored twice as Monaco stretched the lead, and Yakuba Ouattare struck from deep for a 21-12 lead at the end of the first. Donta Hall extended the lead to double digits with a big dunk, before Wolters hit back with a three-point play. Leo Westermann made a threeball and Hall added a layup-and-one for a 29-17 lead, but Ognjen Dobric kept Zvezda alive with two inside strikes. Kuzmic also scored again, Wolters netted another and-one and Austin Hollins hit from deep, pulling it back to 29-27 with a 0-10 run. Hall again dunked hard to keep Monaco in front, and Motiejunas netted inside for a 35-30 lead. Wolters scored in transition, but Diallo went coast to coast before Maik Zirbes and Paris Lee scored close to the basket, making it 41-36 at the break.
Zvezda scored the first 9 points of the second half to go ahead as Wolters stayed hot with two more baskets and Kalinic followed a triple with an inside strike. Diallo and Andjusic brought Monaco back to a 47-47 tie midway through the quarter, but a triple from Branko Lazic helped get Zvezda back ahead. Mike James scored his first points from way deep to force another tie, before Motiejunas and Andjusic made it 56-53 with ten minutes remaining. Motiejunas scored twice early in the fourth quarter to keep the hosts ahead, and after a slow spell of scoring James made a tough triple for a 63-59 lead midway through the fourth. It stayed that way as both offenses misfired until Diallo added free throws inside the final three minutes, before James was called for a technical and Kalinic scored from the line, 65-60. Wolters made it a one-possession game, before Diallo split free throws for 66-62 going into the last minute. Diallo again went to the line and made both, which proved to be enough as James scored on the final buzzer.