Barcelona, Dubai, Zvezda, Efes and Bayern all grabbed wins on Tuesday night
Game Center: Four home winners from tonight's five-game slate
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Wednesday, October 15
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens 91-85 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
Panathinaikos improved to 3-1 in the EuroLeague as the competition’s 2024 champs eased to a 91-85 home win over ASVEL on the back of a double-double of 24 points and 10 boards from big man Richaun Holmes, who seems to have found his feet after an off season move from the Washington Wizards.<br> Kendrick Nunn poured 18 of his 26 points in the first half for the hosts while five visiting players finished in double figures for ASVEL, paced by veteran Nando De Colo who sank 18 points.
ASVEL held its own early on but Panathinaikos moved up a gear and took a 26-19 lead at the end of the first quarter as Nunn sank 9 points and Holmes added 6 for the hosts. The French team matched the Greens in every department in the second quarter before Panathinaikos moved up a gear to carve out a 48-39 halftime advantage with a 10-0 run.
Holmes kept up the good work to keep Panathinaikos in the driving seat as the Greens maintained a 68-60 lead at the end of the third quarter, with the visitors slashing their deficit to just three points several times in the fourth but were unable to force the final twist.
Virtus Bologna 77-73 AS Monaco
Virtus led for the entirety of the second half as it brought a two-game losing skid to an end by beating Monaco 77-73 at the PalaDozza. Dusko Ivanovic’s side took control of the contest early in the fourth quarter, taking its first double-digit lead and later going up by 13, but a late rally by Monaco made things nervy for the hosts. However, a couple of free throws by Carsen Edwards and one by Alessandro Pajola were enough for Virtus to notch its second win of the campaign. Both teams now hold a 2-2 record.
Edwards was the star man on offense for Virtus, posting a game-high 24 points in addition to 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal. There was only one other player who netted in double figures for the Italian outfit, as Saliou Niang netted 10 points. Niang also had 6 rebounds, of which 5 came on the offensive end. Just two of the 12 players that stepped onto the floor for Virtus went scoreless, with 10 players scoring 3 points or more. For Monaco, Nikola Mirotic top scored with 16 points, followed by Alpha Diallo with 11, and Mike James and Daniel Theis with 10 apiece.
Valencia Basket 93-100 Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv
Hapoel held off a late Valencia charge to score a 93-100 road win on Wednesday night at Roig Arena. Down 77-91, Valencia got consecutive three-pointers from Omari Moore, Kameron Taylor, Sergio De Larea and Moore again to get back in the game. Matt Costello split free throws with a chance to tie it with 2:31 remaining and then former Valencia star Chris Jones took over for Hapoel with a three at one end and a steal at the other to guide his team to victory.
Vasilije Micic recorded season-highs of 24 points and 6 assists to lead Hapoel, which moved into a share of first place in the standings at 3-1. Antonio Blakeney added 17 points on 5-of-7 three-points shooting and Jones finished with 12 points, 8 assists and 3 steals. Omari Moore paced Valencia with 22 points, Nate Reuvers scored 12 and Darius Thompson contributed 13 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists in defeat. The loss dropped Valenica to 2-2.
Real Madrid 93-86 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade
Real Madrid led from start to finish but had to hold off the visiting Partizan 93-86 on Wednesday night in the Spanish capital. Los Blancos led by as many as 21 points in the game, but the visitors rallied in the fourth quarter and got within 84-80. However, Real Madrid prevailed, improving to 3-1, tied for the best record in the league.
Walter Tavares paced the winners with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Trey Lyles shined with 17 points and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes, and Theo Maledon had 16 points in 14 minutes on the floor. Jabari Parker paced Partizan with 23 points, and Vanja Marinkovic netted 13 for the visitors, who dropped to a 2-2 record.
Paris Basketball 105-87 Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Paris grabbed its third straight victory of the season by beating Baskonia 105-87 on Wednesday night at Adidas Arena. In an entertaining high-pace clash, the hosts led throughout but Baskonia stayed close, trailing 51-47 at halftime. Yet, the guests lost both Markus Howard and Trent Forrest to first-half injuries and Paris pulled away in the fourth quarter to clinch its second home win.
Nadir Hifi led all scorers with 29 points and Justin Robinson netted 21 as Paris improved its record to 3-1. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot paced Baskonia with 20 points, while Luka Samanic and Hamidou Diallo scored 15 each. But it wasn’t enough for the visitors, who have conceded more than 100 points in three of their four games so far, remaining the only winless team in EuroLeague (0-4).
Tuesday, October 14
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv 71-92 FC Barcelona
Barcelona grabbed its third consecutive EuroLeague victory by overwhelming Maccabi 71-92 at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, Serbia, in Round 4 on Tuesday. Barca improved to 3-1 in the standings while Maccabi dropped to 1-3. Barca led 18-31 at the end of the first quarter, extended its margin to 32-60 at halftime and never looked back.
Willy Hernangomez led the winners with 19 points. Kevin Punter and Myles Cale added 12 while Toko Shengelia flirted with a triple-double with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists in less than 19 minutes. Sayon Keita made his EuroLeague debut with Barca and scored 4 points as a starter. Marcio Santos paced Maccabi with 18 points, Tamir Blatt added 15 and Roman Sorkin had 10.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 69-93 Dubai Basketball
Dubai made quite the statement on Tuesday night by going on the road to Fenerbahce and thrashing the defending EuroLeague champs 69-93. The visitors led from the midway point of the first quarter right until the final buzzer, going up by as many as 32 points with 2 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. With this win, Dubai ended its two-game losing streak to improve to a 2-2 record. The misery continues for Fenerbahce, however, as it dropped its third straight.
Mfiondu Kabengele had his best performance to date in his rookie EuroLeague season, posting 26 points and 7 rebounds. Another key contributor for Dubai was Klemen Prepelic, who had 13 points and 6 assists. The UAE-based team also saw Dwayne Bacon net 21 points, Davis Bertans pour in 12 and Filip Petrusev score 11. For Fenerbahce, Wade Baldwin – who was ejected in the fourth quarter – and Bonzie Colson had 12 points each, followed by Devon Hall with 10.
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 88-79 Zalgiris Kaunas
Crvena Zvezda celebrated a second successive EuroLeague win and sank Zalgiris 88-79, improving to 2-2 while the visitors lost for the first time this season. Jordan Nwora paced Zvezda with a game-high 24 points, with Chima Moneke and Donatas Moteijunas adding 13 apiece. Semi Ojeleye netted 10 points and Ebuka Izundu amassed 9 for the hosts, while Maodo Lo and Arnas Butkevicius led Zalgiris on 14 points each.
Zalgiris led 57-58 entering the fourth quarter before Zvezda hit top gear in the home stretch and forced the final twist, taking a 77-69 lead on the back of fervent home support, as Izundu raised the decibel level when he came up with a steal and a ferocious slam to make it 80-72. Zalgiris had one last roll of the dice, but Zvezda stayed firm to give coach Sasa Obradovic a perfect homecoming on his second debut for the Serbian side.
Olympiacos Piraeus 78-82 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Anadolu Efes grabbed a priceless road win, overcoming Olympiacos 78-82 in a thriller at the Peace and Friendship Stadium. Tyler Dorsey scored 11 early points to send the hosts ahead, but Efes fought back with a 2-16 run propelled by Shane Larkin. The lead continued to swap hands to set up a dramatic finale, and two baskets in the last 80 seconds from Isaia Cordinier ultimately sealed the deal as Sasha Vezenkov’s three-point attempt to force overtime missed the mark.
Efes was paced by 20 points from new signing Cole Swider on 4-of-7 three-point shooting, with Larkin adding 18. Ercan Osmani scored 12, PJ Dozier netted 11 and Cordinier scored 10. Alec Peters hit four triples to lead Olympiacos with 14 points, Tyson Ward scored 13, Vezenkov netted 12 and Dorsey scored 11 in a game that left both teams tied at 2-2.
FC Bayern Munich 64-53 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Bayern bounced back in style from its last home defeat against Zalgiris Kaunas by defeating visiting Milan 64-53 at SAP Garden on Tuesday night. In a game that saw 11 lead changes in the first half, the hosts took control of the game thanks to a 14-2 run midway through the third quarter, right after Milan earned a game-high 7 point-difference, 28-35. Triples by Andreas Obst and Kamar Baldwin at that moment set the tone for the host team, as Milan melted down with just 20 points scored in the second half.
Bayern, which improved to 2-2, was led by Vladimir Lucic, who posted 15 points, while Obst and Baldwin followed with 14 and 11 respectively. Devin Booker had a bittersweet return to Munich, as he posted a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds to pace the visitors, and Shavon Shields had 10 points in the losing effort. Milan slipped to 1-3 after its third loss in a row.