Another round of action in the most competitive basketball league in the world is now in the books
Game Center: Bayern, Real Madrid grab important wins on Friday
![EuroLeague Game Center: Round 29](https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/2ea59d69-b54d-4cbd-9eac-f34842e59d85.jpg?crop=1269%3A714%3Anowe%3A0%3A105)
Friday, March 15
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 84-80 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
ASVEL played the role of spoiler to end Efes's playoff hopes as it held on for an 84-80 victory over the Turkish side. ASVEL has now won two straight home games, with Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scoring 21 points on Friday night and Paris Lee securing the win with a three-pointer with 4.8 seconds to play. ASVEL is now 7-22 as Deshaun Thomas added 20 points and Nando De Colo chipped in 5 points and 9 assists. Efes suffered a major blow to its playoff hopes after losing its eighth straight road game for a 12-17 record, including just 2-13 on its travels. Will Clyburn paced Efes with 16 points and Darius Thompson scored 15 points in a losing effort.
FC Bayern Munich 64-58 Zalgiris Kaunas
Bayern (13-16) bounced back into the postseason picture with an industrious 64-58 home win over Zalgiris (11-18) after a superb defensive performance which limited the visitors to low shooting percentages. Center Devin Booker paced Bayern with 20 points and 6 rebounds, while guards Carsen Edwards and Sylvain Francisco scored 10 each for the home side. At the other end, Keenan Evans led Zalgiris with a game-high 21 points and Brady Manek chipped in with 11.
Virtus Segafredo Bologna 74-89 Real Madrid
Real Madrid ended a three-game losing streak and became the first team to secure a top-six finish, thus guaranteeing a spot in the playoffs, by cruising past Virtus, 74-89. Guerschon Yabusele powered Real with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field plus 7 rebounds, while Vincent Poirier added 14 points and 8 boards to help the reigning champ improve to 23-6 in first place. Isaia Cordinier led the resistance for Virtus with 12 points and 8 rebounds, but it never looked like being enough as the hosts dropped to 17-12 after losing five of their last seven games.
Thursday, March 14
Olympiacos Piraeus 71-65 Panathinaikos Aktor Athens
Olympiacos secured a season sweep against archrival Panathinaikos by coming out on top at Peace and Friendship Stadium on Thursday evening, 71-65. The Reds had a slow start to the contest but were led by an inspired Moses Wright, who had a career-best night. Olympiacos and Panathinaikos now share an 18-11 record, but it is the Reds who have the head-to-head advantage. Wright finished as the game's leading scorer, netting 19 points. Alec Peters was the only other Olympiacos player to finish in double digits in points, having scored 11. Panathinaikos, meanwhile, had three double-digit scorers: Kendrick Nunn with 17 and Dinos Mitoglou and Mathias Lessort with 11 each.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 118-88 Valencia Basket
Fenerbahce set a new EuroLeague club record on its way to a 118-88 home win against Valencia in Round 29. Fenerbahce hit 24 three-pointers, shattering the all-time record which belonged to cross-town rivals Anadolu Efes Istanbul (22). Its 118 points are also a club record. Tyler Dorsey hit 8-of-9 three-pointers on his way to 28 points. Nigel Hayes-Davis added 21 for Fenerbahce while Scottie Wilbekin had 20. Brandon Davies led Valencia with 18 points. Fenerbahce improved to 18-11 in the standings, Valencia dropped to 13-16.
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 80-84 Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
Maccabi rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat Crvena Zvezda 80-84 on Thursday night at Stark Arena. It was the third straight win for Maccabi, which improved to 16-13 on the season, while Zvezda lost its fifth consecutive game and has a 10-19 record. Josh Nebo had 18 points, 13 rebounds, including 8 on the offensive end, and 3 blocks. Bonzie Colson scored 23 and Wade Baldwin had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Yago Dos Santos had 20 points and 7 assists for the hosts, but he left the game with 2 minutes to go after receiving a blow to the head and had to be taken to the locker room. Hanga had 13 points and 7 assists, Javonte Smart scored all of his 12 points in the first half, and Joel Bolomboy collected 11 points and 8 rebounds.
Monaco shrugged off a slow first quarter en route to an 82-90 victory at ALBA, which extended the Monegasque side's winning streak to eight games. Monaco took over with a 12-32 second quarter, though it was forced to fight at the end before improving to a 19-10 record, including a 9-7 mark away from home. Elie Okobo led the way with 21 points and Mike James added 20 points for Monaco, which has now won four straight road games. Monaco is strong in the running for the playoff spots. ALBA has dropped six straight games and remains in last place at 5-24. Matt Thomas picked up 14 points to lead the hosts in a losing effort. ALBA committed 21 turnovers to just 12 for Monaco, which attempted 74 field goal attempts to just 54 for ALBA.
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 88-73 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Baskonia powered past Milan and grabbed an 88-73 win in Round 29 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season. The hosts improved their record to 16-13 and secured the head-to-head advantage over the Italian side, that dropped to 12-17. Markus Howard led all scorers with 24 points, Chima Moneke netted 19 and Vanja Marinkovic added 13. For Milan, Nikola Mirotic recorded 21 points, Shavon Shields had 17 and Shabazz Napier ended the game with 12.
FC Barcelona 94-76 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade
Barcelona (20-9) tightened its grip on second place in the EuroLeague with a comfortable 94-76 home win over Partizan (13-16) after the Spanish side produced a strong fourth quarter to force its Serbian rival into submission. Nico Laprovittola paced Barca with 17 points, while Willy Hernangomez poured in 15. A balanced team effort saw Rokas Jokubaitis score 13 points for the home team and Jabari Parker add 12, while versatile Ricky Rubio claimed the player of the game award with 7 points, 6 assists and as many rebounds. At the other end, Aleksa Avramovic stood out for Partizan with a game-high 27 points and Zach LeDay netted 16, but the support cast was well below par as none of the other visiting players hit double digits. Captain Kevin Punter had a particularly quiet game for Partizan, having netted a mere 6 points amid tight marking by the home side.