His 21 points led the Blaugrana to their first win over the Monegasques in four games
Kevin Punter had himself a night as Barcelona beat Monaco
FC Barcelona got its best win of this young Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season by beating the visiting AS Monaco 86-71 on Friday night. Apart from a solid effort on both ends of the floor that resulted in a 15-point win against an opponent that had won their last three head-to-head games, Barcelona also got a standout performance it waited for from Kevin Punter, a scoring guard the team brought with high expectation this past summer.
"We had to be focused on both sides [of the floor], and we came up with a good, comfortable win," Punter told EuroLeague TV after scoring a game-high and season-high 21 points.
He made 5-of-7 two-point shots and 3-of-8 threes, while also collecting 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block, all in 25 minutes on the floor.
"I am trying to be the best version of myself and do what I got to do," Punter said, adding: "I am still adjusting, it is early in the season, so taking it day by day."
Punter, who has scored at least 11 points in each of the three games this season and averages 15.3 points after three rounds, not only led Barcelona in scoring but did so in bunches in key moments of the game.
He got Barcelona going with a pair of triples, accumulating 8 points in the first quarter, and scored 5 points late in the second quarter to help secure a 47-39 halftime lead. He then tallied 5 more points early in the third quarter in an 12-1 run which gave Barcelona a double-digit lead. Monaco never threatened after that.
"We put an entire game together all 40 minutes, and we've seen the results", was Jabari Parker's thoughts. Parker also had his best game of the young season, scoring 16 points and making a career-best 4 triples on 6 attempts.
But what Barcelona has done on Wednesday could easily be forgotten by Friday, when the team travels to face the only remaining undefeated side in the league – Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade.
After a shaky opening week and a loss in Kaunas, two home wins have eased a stress for Barcelona and improved team's record to 2-1, but Friday's game could tell us a lot where Barcelona really is at the moment.
"They got a real electric crowd, that's gonna put us to the test", Parker concluded.