Four games follow on Friday to finish this season's third double-round week
Game Center: Away win for Zvezda; Milan, Zalgiris among 5 to triumph at home
Article
8 Mins read
Thursday, October 30
Zalgiris Kaunas 96-59 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
Zalgiris Kaunas tied a club record for its largest margin of victory in a 37-point blowout of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne on Thursday night at Zalgirio Arena. The Lithuanian giants were never in trouble, building a double-digit lead after one quarter and growing it night long.
All 11 players in uniform scored for Zalgiris, which was led by Sylvain Francisco with 15 points and 7 assists and Moses Wright with 14 points on perfect shooting and 7 rebounds. Teenager Kajus Mikalauskas added 5 points in his EuroLeague debut as Zalgiris improved to 6-2 on the season. Glynn Watson scored 14 to lead ASVEL, which lost star guard Nando De Colo to a leg injury in the second quarter. ASVEL’s record slipped to 2-6.
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv 92-99 Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade
Crvena Zvezda notched its sixth successive win and improved to 6-2 after a high-octane 92-99 road defeat of Maccabi in a see-saw encounter that kept fans on the edge of their seats throughout. Codi Miller-McIntyre paced Zvezda on 23 points and 11 assists, Chima Moneke racked up 16 points and 8 boards while Ebuka Izundu added 15 points to go with 7 rebounds. At the other end. Jaylen Hoard scored 20 points while Lonnie Walker added 18 for Maccabi, which dropped to 2-6.
A frantic and fast-paced start to the game saw Zvezda hit its first 4 three-pointers from as many attempts to take a 15-27 lead as Miller-McIntyre was red-hot from the floor, netting 11 points in the first quarter. The Serbian team, roared on by a loud contingent of fans at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall, held on for a 26-33 advantage after the opening 10 minutes. The pace was just as unrelenting in the second quarter, with Hoard and Brisset keeping Maccabi afloat while Zvezda relied on smooth teamwork to carve out a 48-58 halftime lead.
Maccabi beefed up its defense in the third quarter and closed in to 61-65 midway through before Zvezda regained its composure. The visitors entered the final 10 minutes ahead 71-77. Maccabi nosed ahead with a 10-1 run early in the fourth quarter as Zvezda’s offense was ground to a screeching halt, but the Serbian outfit then thrived on some big buckets from Izundu ahead of the home straight. Zvezda had more in the tank in a tight finish, with Izundu coming up big as he netted 11 fourth-quarter points to make the difference.
FC Bayern Munich 86-70 Virtus Bologna
FC Bayern Munich earned a convincing 86-70 win on Thursday at SAP Garden, despite a gutsy fight from Virtus Bologna. It was clear that part of Bayern’s defensive game plan was to keep the ball out of its former point guard Carsen Edwards's hands, which they did for most of the first half. However, the point guard pulled his team back into the game in the second, with a couple of impressive jumpers. The momentum shift didn’t last long however and Munich took hold of the contest soon after.
Debutant Spencer Dinwiddie began to take command on offense near the end of the third, putting himself into isolation plays. Despite some pushback from Virtus, the host eventually took complete control of the contest down the stretch.
Sharpshooting Andreas Obst led the Bavarians in scoring with 21, helped by his 11-point run in the final 5 minutes. A scoring burst from Justinian Jessup and consistent offensive output from Johannes Voigtmann also bolstered Bayern’s chances, while Isiaha Mike topped off a great week with another impressive performance, adding 4 rebounds and 2 assists to a 17-point scoring performance. Alen Smailagic led Virtus with 17 points and Edwards finished with 16, though he shot just 7-for-19 from the field. The win moved Gordon Herbert’s team to 3-3 for their EuroLeague campaign, while Virtus fell to 4-4.
Valencia Basket 80-78 Dubai Basketball
In a thriller that came down to the last shot, Valencia Basket registered its third consecutive victory by edging Dubai Basketball 80-78 at Roig Arena in Round 8 on Thursday. Valencia improved to 5-3 in the regular season standings while Dubai dropped to 3-5. All five Dubai losses have come on the road.
Kameron Taylor led the winners with 19 points and 6 rebounds. Omari Moore added 15, including the go-ahead basket with 21.6 seconds remaining, while Brancou Badio had 12 points for Valencia. Boogie Ellis paced Dubai with 18 points in his EuroLeague debut. Filip Petrusev added 17 while Dwayne Bacon had 10 for the visitors, who were outrebounded 40-34. Once Moore gave Valencia an 80-78 lead, Bacon and David Bertans each missed a shot from beyond the arc in the final seconds off the game, allowing Valencia fans to celebrate a hard-fought victory.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 86-77 Paris Basketball
In a game that seemed set for a blowout after the first 25 minutes, Milan ended up coming away with an 86-77 win over Paris on Thursday night. The swarming Milan defense held Paris star Nadir Hifi to just 2 points on 1-for-10 shooting in the first half, which allowed the Little Red Shoes to boast a 20-point lead at the interval (47-27).
Although Hifi started to heat up in the third quarter, Milan maintained a healthy advantage as Armoni Brooks started to come to the fore. After 30 minutes, Milan was up by 14. Hifi kept charging in the fourth and helped Paris make it a 10-point game with just over 3 minutes remaining, but a combination of Brooks, Quinn Ellis and Devin Booker managed to get Coach Ettore Messina’s side over the line.
Booker scored a team-high 13 points for Milan, followed by Brooks with 12, and Shavon Shields and Nico Mannion with 10 apiece. Pippo Ricci finished the night with 9 points and 10 rebounds, while Ellis had 7 points and 8 rebounds. For Paris, Hifi netted a game-high 24 points, with Justin Robinson and Sebastian Herrera pouring in 11 points each.
Real Madrid 84-58 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
Real Madrid got back to winning ways by thrashing Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 84-58 on Thursday night at Movistar Arena. After losing three road games in a row, Los Blancos hit the ground running with a 17-2 surge and took a 49-22 lead into the second half. Having held Fenerbahce to just 35 points after three quarters, Real Madrid opened a 30-point lead to finish the game off. The hosts improved their record to 4-4, with the Turkish side dropping to 3-5.
Theo Maledon paced Real Madrid with 15 points followed by Trey Lyles, who netted 14, and Walter Tavares with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. Fenerbahce guard Wade Baldwin scored a team-high 14 points and Talen Horton-Tucker added 10 in defeat.
Friday, October 31
AS Monaco vs. Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (19:00 CET)
Friday tips off with a heavyweight showdown between two of last season’s Final Four contestants as Monaco (4-3) faces Panathinaikos (5-2). The Roca Team has already beaten one Greek giant this week following Wednesday’s impressive road win at Olympiacos, and all-time EuroLeague top scorer Mike James will face his former team full of confidence after combining 23 points with 10 assists. Panathinaikos needs to find solutions in the paint after Richaun Holmes suffered injury during Tuesday’s win over Maccabi, and Omer Yurtseven will face a heavy workload after a registering a big double-double (16 points, 13 rebounds) in that victory. The Greens will also hope that Cedi Osman, who played nearly 38 minutes earlier this week, has enough energy to subdue Alpha Diallo, another star of Monaco’s win in Piraeus.
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv (20:15 CET)
Standings leader Hapoel (6-1) is seeking another high-profile victim as it faces an inconsistent Olympiacos (4-3) targeting a return to winning ways. Hapoel underlined its depth as seven different players scored in double digits to overpower Partizan earlier this week, including Elijah Bryant again showing his versatility by combining 11 points and 9 rebounds. Limiting the influence of visiting playmaker Vasilije Micic (15.6 points per game) will be a focus for an Olympiacos team needing defensive improvement after Wednesday’s home loss to Monaco, and the Reds will hope that Evan Fournier can find his range after shooting 0-of-6 from three-point range in that loss. Dominating the paint will be a key between the league’s two most accurate two-point shooting teams (60.5% vs 60.2%), headlined by a big battle between Nikola Milutinov and Dan Oturu.
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade vs. FC Barcelona (20:30 CET)
A key matchup in the middle of the standings will see Partizan (3-4) defend its home court against a visit from Barcelona (4-3). New Partizan signing Nick Calathes could debut by facing his former club, and he will try to provide more fluidity to an offense which ranks last in the league in assists (15.7 per game). The Serbian team, which lost at Hapoel on Wednesday, will hope that Sterling Brown can continue to shine after netting 25 and 19 points in the last two games, but Barca showed its defensive capabilities by grinding out a 74-72 win over Milan last time out. A pair of former Partizan players, Kevin Punter and Jan Vesely, will play a key role as Barca seeks a 12th straight win over the host, a run dating back to 2010.
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul (20:30 CET)
October’s action concludes in Vitoria, where Baskonia (1-6) and Efes (3-4) are both aiming to complete a perfect double week. The Spanish team’s long-awaited first victory of the season came against Dubai on Tuesday, led by the orchestration of Kobi Simmons (16 points and 5 assists) and the shooting of Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (25 points), while Efes picked up a second straight road win by triumphing at Paris behind the ever-present scoring threat of former Baskonia star Shane Larkin (19 points). The Turkish team will try to control the tempo through the physical presence of Ercan Osmani (13.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game), while Baskonia will look to feed off the energy of Hamari Diallo, whose impressive season continued with 14 points and 8 boards on Tuesday.