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Game Center: Fener, Oly, Monaco grab huge wins in the playoff race
![EuroLeague Game Center: Round 27.](https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/c24220ea-cbfd-48e3-a200-55178b373141.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A123%3A29)
Friday, March 1
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 111-96 Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Nick Calathes tied an all-time EuroLeague record in steals and Fenerbahce set a club record in scoring and assists in an 111-96 win over Baskonia on Friday night. The win improved Fenerbahce to a 16-11 record on the season and two wins up on Baskonia, which dropped to a 14-13 mark. In a high-scoring affair, Fenerbahce had 32 assists, the most ever by the club in EuroLeague action, and also hit 19 triples, one shy of a record. Meanwhile, Calathes has 2 steals, tying with Dimitris Diamantidis for the all-time lead in steals with 434.
Zalgiris Kaunas 76-95 Olympiacos Piraeus
Olympiacos kept its feet firmly in the race for the top four with a no-doubt-about it 76-95 road win over Zalgiris . The victory extended the Olympiacos (16-11) winning streak to four while ending that of Zalgiris (11-16) at three. The Reds attacked the rim all night and their 25-for-32 two-point shooting, for a rate of 78.1% that has only been surpassed by two other teams this season, was the story of the game. Thomas Walkup starred with a career-high 22 points and 6 assists against his old team. Shaquielle McKissic came off the bench for a season-high 20 points while Alec Peters added 16 and Moses Wright 11. Keenan Evans scored 19 and Rolands Smits 17 for Zalgiris.
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 81-77 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
ASVEL ended its three-game losing streak by defeating Milan 81-77 at LDLC Arena in Round 27 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season. The hosts improved to 6-21 and moved up to second bottom in the standings, while Milan dropped to 11-16 and remains two wins behind the last play-in spot. Joffrey Lauvergne paced the hosts with 17 points, with Nando De Colo and Mike Scott netting 13 and 12, respectively. For the guests, Devon Hall led all scorers with 19 points, Maodo Lo bagged 15 and Kyle Hines added 11.
FC Bayern Munich 74-66 Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade
Bayern (12-15) rekindled its hopes of making the EuroLeague Playoffs with a well deserved 74-66 home win over Crvena Zvezda (10-17), whose own chances of reaching the postseason took yet another blow after a lackluster performance resulted in a fifth defeat in the last six games. Devin Booker paced the home side with a game-high 22 points and 6 rebounds. Serge Ibaka added 12 points and 8 rebounds for Bayern, which racked up 18 assists and 7 steals against only 8 turnovers. At the other end, Javonte Smart paced Zvezda with 13 points, Joel Bolomboy netted 11 points to go with 9 rebounds while Nemanja Nedovic added 10 points for the visitors.
Monaco overcame early offensive struggles and fought back for a resounding 67-77 road win over Barcelona on Friday night. Mike James did not become the EuroLeague's all-time leading scoring, needing 29 points to climb atop the scoring charts, as he finished with 17 in Barcelona. However, he did make important buckets down the stretch to help Monaco improve to a 17-10 record. This win also gave Monaco a season sweep of Barcelona, which dropped to 18-9, still in lone possession of second place in the standings.
Thursday, February 29
ALBA Berlin 71-106 Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
Maccabi took care of business on Thursday night at Mercedes-Benz Arena in the German capital with a 71-106 victory to improve to 14-13 on the season. James Webb led the Israeli champs with 17 points off the bench, Wade Baldwin added 16 points and 5 assists and Josh Nebo netted 15. Maccabi outrebounded ALBA 29-37 and shot 82.5% on two-pointers in two of the key stats. Johannes Thiemenn scored 14 and Sterling Brown 11 for ALBA; which dropped to last place with a 5-22 record.
Virtus Segafredo Bologna 87-74 Valencia Basket
Virtus got back to winning ways by beating Valencia 87-74 in Round 27 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season. The Italian side now holds the head-to-head advantage after Valencia won their first meeting 79-71. With this victory, Virtus improved to a 17-10 record, while Valencia dropped to 13-14. Marco Belinelli led Virtus with 16 points, while Jordan Mickey paired his 14 points with 7 rebounds. Isaia Cordinier netted 12 points and Iffe Lundberg added 11. For Valencia, a red-hot Chris Jones scored a game-high 20 points, but none of his teammates managed to register double digits in scoring.
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 100-90 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Partizan snapped a three-game losing streak and revived its hopes of making the playoffs with a spectacular 100-90 home win over Efes on the back of 30 points from guard Aleksa Avramovic, who came off the bench to produce an inspired performance inside Stark Arena. Zach LeDay racked up 21 points and 8 rebounds for Partizan, team captain Kevin Punter added 16 points and Danilo Andjusic chipped in with 15. At the other end, Will Clyburn paced Efes with 17 points, while Tibor Pleiss netted 13 and Shane Larkin scored 11. Tyrique Jones added 10 points for Efes, whose postseason hopes are now fading after a tough loss in Belgrade.
Real Madrid 86-97 Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens
Panathinaikos ended an 11-year losing run in the Spanish capital and handed Real Madrid its first home loss of the EuroLeague season with a spectacular 86-97 triumph at WiZink Center. The Greens launched a 4-18 run in the second quarter to take control and later withstood several comeback attempts to grab a statement-making victory. Mathias Lessort inspired Panathinaikos with 26 points, most of which came courtesy of spectacular slam dunks, along with 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. He had plenty of help from the backcourt, with Kendrick Nunn providing 17 points and 7 assists while Kostas Sloukas scored 16 plus 6 helpers.