Majestic Monaco steamrolls Virtus, 81-68

AS Monaco made a big step towards reaching the EuroLeague post-season after a strong defensive performance led to an 81-68 home win over Virtus Segafredo Bologna on Thursday with Elie Okobo excelling to nail a game-high 21 points for the winners. Okobo also racked up 5 assists and as many rebounds, driving Monaco to victory despite the absence of the suspended Mike James, the team's top performer. Monaco improved to 19-10 to assure itself at least fourth place with five games to play. Virtus fell to 13-16 as its playoffs hopes dimmed.
Jordan Loyd posted 15 points for Monaco, Donta Hall added 13 and 7 rebounds and Donatas Moteijunas chipped in with 12 points for the hosts. Jordan Mickey paced Virtus with 14 points, Awudu Abass netted 12 and Milos Teodosic added 10, but the visitors were brushed aside in the second half as they endured a torrid shooting night, hitting 11-of-33 three-pointers against Monaco's aggressive defense.
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The first quarter was a see-saw battle with both sides hitting some tough shots while they also served up some spectacular blocks, with Abass denying Jaron Blossomgame in the game's opening possession before John Brown rejected Ismael Bako at the other end. Virtus nosed ahead 21-22 at the end of the first quarter and extended its advantage to 26-31 early in the second before an 11-0 run by the home side turned the tide. Monaco was up 41-37 at halftime as it dominated the boards, picking up 22 rebounds against the visiting team's 13 in the first half. Monaco had 10 offensive boards as Virtus struggled in the paint at both ends, with its long-range artillery also misfiring after the break.
Virtus did hit back in the third quarter thanks to a pair of three-pointers from Abass but having regained the lead, 47-48, the visitors then fell apart as Monaco produced an 11-3 run and never looked back. The hosts were 63-53 up at the end of the third quarter and with Virtus running on of steam, there was only going to be one winner. Okobo found an extra gear in the fourth quarter as he tormented his defenders with bursts of speed and accuracy, while Teodosic and Marco Belinelli missed one long-range shot after another for Virtus. The writing was on the wall for the Italian side after Monaco claimed a 73-57 advantage with a little over 3 minutes remaining and the home team ran out comfortable winners in the end.