The first half of this double-round week is now complete
Game Center: Fenerbahce, Milan, Panathinaikos win big on Wednesday
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Wednesday, March 20
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 88-74 FC Barcelona
Fenerbahce grabbed its fourth consecutive win in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague by downing Barcelona at Ulker Sports and Event Hall in Round 30 on Wednesday. Fenerbahce improved to 20-10 and is 14-1 at home this season. Barca dropped to 19-11. Scottie Wilbekin paced the winners with 18 points. Marko Guduric and Nick Calathes each added 13 while Nigel Hayes-Davis and Tarik Biberovic each had 12 for Fenerbahce. Calathes also become the EuroLeague's all-time steals leader with 436. Dario Brizuela led Barca with 18 points on 4-of-4 three-point shooting. Nico Laprovittola added 11 for the guests.
AS Monaco 80-98 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Milan boosted its top 10 chances by claiming a prestigious road win, while ending Monaco’s eight-game winning run. The visiting team took control towards the end of the first half, breaking a club record on the road by scoring 56 points before the interval. The lead reached 21 points in the third quarter, and although Monaco briefly fought back to make it closer, the Italian team surged clear again to improve to 13-17. Monaco missed out on the chance to move into second place as it dropped to 19-11. Devon Hall did a bit of everything for the winning team with 14 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds, while Nikola Mirotic top scored with 21 points. Alpha Diallo led Monaco with 17 points and Jordan Loyd added 14, while Mike James went 1-of-10 from the field.
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 76-89 Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens
Panathinaikos assured itself a spot in the Play-In Showdown, at the least, and boosted its hopes of finishing in the top four after a smooth win at Crvena Zvezda, which suffered its sixth successive defeat in Europe's premier club competition. A flowing team effort saw five visiting players finish in double figures, with Mathias Lessort leading the way on 19 points and 6 rebounds. Kostas Sloukas and Dinos Mitoglou added 17 points apiece, the latter also racking up 9 rebounds. At the other end, Nemanja Nedovia and Dejan Davidovac netted 19 points each for Zvezda.
Valencia Basket 70-68 FC Bayern Munich
In a thriller, Valencia improved its chances to make it to the Play-In Showdown by edging Bayern at home. Valencia improved to 14-16 in the standings while Bayern dropped to 13-7. Chris Jones paced the winners with 19 points. Damien Inglis added 15 and 6 rebounds while Semi Ojeleye had 14 points and 7 rebounds for Valencia. Devin Booker led Bayern with 16 points. Sylvain Francisco added 12 and Carsen Edwards 10 for the guests.
Tuesday, March 19
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 85-72 Olympiacos Piraeus
Efes came out on top against Olympiacos by winning 85-72 in Round 30 on Tuesday evening. This victory ensures that Efes can still dream of making the Play-In Showdown, with the team improving to a 12-17 record and 4-2 under Tomislav Mijatovic. Olympiacos, meanwhile, saw its six-game winning streak come to an end as it fell to 18-12. Shane Larkin paced Efes with 15 points, followed by Will Clyburn with 14, Derek Willis with 13, Rodrigue Beaubois with 11 and Elijah Bryant with 10. For Olympiacos, Alec Peters netted a game-high 19 points. Moustapha Fall added 14, Kostas Papanikolaou chipped in with 12 and Isaiah Canaan had 11.
Zalgiris Kaunas 96-81 Virtus Segafredo Bologna
Zalgiris kept its hopes of reaching the Play-In Showdown alive as it fought off Virtus 96-81 to snap a three-game losing streak. Zalgiris took over in the third quarter and conceded just 32 points in the second half for a 12-18 record, including a 7-7 mark at home. Edmond Sumner scored 16 points while Keenan Evans added 14 points and 7 assists. Virtus dropped to 17-13 with its fourth loss in the last five games as it must wait to lock up a spot in the top 10. Toko Shengelia had 19 points in a losing effort.
Real Madrid has become the first team to seal home-court advantage for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs by beating ALBA Berlin at the Mercedes-Benz Arena on Tuesday night. Los Blancos improved their record to 24-6, while bottom-placed ALBA Berlin dropped to 5-24 despite its solid display at home against the reigning champion. Mario Hezonja led all scorers with 22 points and Guerschon Yabusele netted 17. For ALBA, Matt Thomas scored 16 points, andJohannes Thiemann recorded 14.
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 98-90 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
Maccabi improved to 17-13 after claiming a tough 98-90 win over ASVEL on the back of a monster display from shooting guard Wade Baldwin, who racked up 30 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds in a titanic tussle decided in the last few minutes of an absorbing contest. Center Josh Nebo posted 18 points to go with 10 rebounds and Bonzie Colson added 23 points, including a clutch three-pointer in a captivating finish, as Maccabi fought back to snatch its fourth successive win.
Veteran guard Nando De Colo rolled back the years to become the first player to surpass the 5,000 PIR points mark, taking his tally to 5,011 with 18 PIR points after a vintage performance for ASVEL. The 36-year old amassed 18 points, 5 assists and 1 rebound to pace the French side.
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 87-83 Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Partizan had to hold its breath late against Baskonia, despite leading for the entire game, as it came away with an 87-83 victory. This win gave Partizan the tiebreaker over Baskonia, which could prove decisive as both teams are in the play-in spots right now. Frank Kaminsky paced Partizan with a team-high 20 points, with Bruno Caboclo and Kevin Punter netting 18 points apiece. Caboclo also had 13 rebounds. Baskonia was led by an inspired Markus Howard, who had 26 points in 21 minutes. Chima Moneke and Matt Costello posted 13 points each for the visitors.