Marius Grigonis drained 7 three-pointers as Panathinaikos B.C. beat Anadolu Efes S.K. 83-76 in Round 20 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague Regular Season.

Marius Grigonis lit it up from deep to punish Efes

Panathinaikos Athens produced a sublime first-half performance at both ends of the floor to take a 51-35 lead into the halftime break against Anadolu Efes Istanbul, [before eventually winning 83-76](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/euroleague-live-blog-panathinaikos-bc-vs-anadolu-efes-sk/). The Greek side even led by 22 points, 38-16, midway through the second quarter, as it took control of the game thanks to [Marius Grigonis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/marius-grigonis/002328/)’s impressive stats from beyond the arc.

Grigonis went 4-for-4 on three-pointers through the first 20 minutes, with the Panathinaikos swingman coming into the intermission on 15 points. He finished the game with a season high of 24 points, just 1 point shy of his career high, having gone a career-best 7-for-9 from deep for a PIR of 28. He also recorded 3 assists to surpass the 300-assist mark, but after the game he stressed that the most important thing was the Greens grabbing their 12th win of the season.

Marius Grigonis netted 7 three-pointers as Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens beat Anadolu Efes Istanbul in Round 20 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

Grigonis's 7 triples vs. Efes

“Honestly, I was never the guy who checks the stats and everything,” Grigonis admitted in the post-game flash interview. “It’s fun, but the most important thing is that we won the game. In this brutal schedule, I’m really happy that we’ve got the win, but the day after tomorrow we play again, so there is no time to enjoy the records or the wins. We have to keep going.”

### Grigonis has bounced back in style

This season, Grigonis has responded excellently to the scrutiny he suffered following a mediocre first campaign at Panathinaikos. With each passing game at present, he is proving his critics wrong. Having become a key cog in head coach Ergin Ataman’s well-oiled machine, Grigonis has recorded 10.8 points per game and shot a solid 44.2% (42-for-95) from beyond the arc.

“I feel like I have always been this player,” Grigonis added. “Some people have their own opinions, but I have always believed in myself and I am a confident person. One bad year won’t take anything from me. What else can you do? You bounce back, keep working and keep playing.”

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Together 💚<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheGreens?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheGreens</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/paobcaktor?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#paobcaktor</a> <a href="https://t.co/DNf9YnXUsY">pic.twitter.com/DNf9YnXUsY</a></p>&mdash; Panathinaikos BC (@paobcgr) <a href="https://twitter.com/paobcgr/status/1744832388184559949?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### What caused Grigonis to succeed vs. Efes?

His teammate, Mathias Lessort, who registered 10 points and 8 drawn fouls, explained what enabled Grigonis to have such a magical night on Tuesday at OAKA.

“Tonight, Efes collapsed a lot inside and that’s why Grigonis was able to have a night like the one he had,” Lessort noted. “He shot the ball amazingly tonight. It just depends on the opponent’s plan; it’s nothing that we can plan for. We have to adjust to what the opponent gives us.”

Panathinaikos kicked off the double-round week in style by grabbing its seventh win at home and its sixth in its last seven overall. The Greens play at home in five of their next six games, too, with the Greek side set to host AS Monaco in Round 21 on Thursday. Expect to see Grigonis feature prominently once again.

More Panathinaikos News

Marius Grigonis of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens in action against Anadolu Efes Istanbul in Round 20 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

The Lithuanian swingman struck 7 times from three-point range in an important win for Panathinaikos.

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens v Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2024-01-09T19:15:00.000Z)

AS Monaco controlled the battle of turnovers against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and that led to a 93-83 victory to earn a season sweep over the Spanish side. 

Monaco controlled the turnover battle to sweep Baskonia 

AS Monaco controlled the battle of turnovers against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and that led to a 93-83 victory to earn a season sweep over the Spanish side.

In a game that had major playoff implications, Monaco committed only 6 turnovers - 3.6 fewer than its league-best rate of 9.6 per game to improve to 11-9 and drop Baskonia to 10-10.

Monaco not only took care of the ball but Sasa Obradovic’s team also caused problems for Baskonia’s offense, which suffered through 19 turnovers, having committed only 12.6 miscues per game coming into the contest.

And the home side really made Baskonia pay for those mistakes with a 32-6 advantage in points off turnovers.

Game Videos

Monaco dominated the game on the offensive glass in the first half with 8 offensive rebounds and that helped set the tone even though the rebounding was much more even by the end of the game.

In addition to getting the points off turnovers, Monaco also did a good job making its three-pointers, knocking down 11-of-24 from long range for 45.8%, up from 36.5% for the season. Mike James and Yakuba Ouattara both drilled 4 triples and three other Monaco players connected at least once from deep.

Monaco also needed the scoring prowess of James, who poured in 26 points in a bounce-back game after he had just 10 points against Olympiacos last week.

Game News

“We’re just trying to build some continuity, some kind of consistency. Just happy we could protect home and get a win today,” said James, who has scored in double figures in 20 straight games.

Monaco needed the victory as it was a showdown of two of four teams that entered Round 20 with 10-9 records in the fight for the playoffs. Monaco had won 73-75 in Spain and this victory gave Sasa Obradovic’s squad a season sweep of Baskonia.

“It was a must for us - for them too - but good thing we came out with the W,” added John Brown, who chipped in 4 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.

Much of Brown’s biggest value came at the defensive end, where Monaco really won the game with the turnovers.

AS Monaco v Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (2024-01-09T18:00:00.000Z)

Zalgiris Kaunas survived a thriller to break a four-game road losing streak in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season, edging Valencia Basket 79-84 at La Fonteta to go up to 6-14 in the standings. 


Evans's late heroics lead Zalgiris to sixth win 

Zalgiris Kaunas survived a thriller to end a four-game road losing streak in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, edging Valencia Basket 79-84 at La Fonteta to go up to 6-14 in the standings. 

Zalgiris had full control of the game in the first half, leading by as many as 9 points and holding a 40-48 edge near halftime. Valencia bounced back in the third quarter, improving its defense and running its offense through former Zalgiris center Brandon Davies. It held a 66-62 lead with 8 minutes left when star guard Keenan Evans returned to the floor to make things happen down the stretch.

Evans was simply unstoppable until the final buzzer. He followed Rolands Smits's basket with a steal and a three-pointer that saw Zalgiris regain the lead in a critical moment, 66-67. Evans went on to get another steal and draw an unsportsmanlike foul from Justin Anderson, make both free throws and find Brady Manek for a corner three-pointer and a 68-72 Zalgiris lead.

Valencia was far from done, as Semi Ojeleye had 6 unanswered points to put the hosts ahead again, 74-72. It would be the hosts' final lead of the game, as Evans made sure Zalgiris entered crunch time with a great chance to win the game. He buried another three-pointer, and another one, to give Zalgiris a 76-80 lead with 1:14 remaining.

Keenan Evans finished the game with 24 points on 6 of 9 three-pointers, 5 assists, 2 steals and a PIR of 23.

Evans leads Zalgiris past Valencia in Round 20

Brady Manek and Edgaras Ulanovas allowed Zalgiris to put the victory on ice, but the guests would not have gotten there without Evans, who finished the game with 24 points on 6 of 9 three-point shooting, 5 assists, 2 steals and a PIR of 23.

"My teammates had confidence in me to send me to handle the ball in those situations. We came out with a victory, had some tough defensive plays but we got the win," Evans said after the game. "We have been kind of struggling with third quarters the entire season but we knew they were going to make a run. They are a great team so we just had to stay together and play the last 20 minutes."

"We know that Keenan \[Evans\] has the responsibility to make decisions at the end of the game," Ulanovas added after the game. "He scored some great threes but also a lot of credit to our guys for the job on defensive rebounds at the end of the fourth quarter."

Evans had 11 of his 24 points in the final 6 minutes, giving Zalgiris a confidence boost ahead of its next game, against FC Barcelona at Palau Blaugrana on Friday at 20:30 CET.

The Zalgiris guard scored 11 fourth-quarter points to spark the Lithuanian champs. 

Evans's late heroics led Zalgiris to road win 

Valencia Basket v Zalgiris Kaunas (2024-01-09T19:30:00.000Z)

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan continued its recent improvement by overcoming ALBA Berlin, 82-76, at the Forum on Tuesday night, and it was a milestone evening for the Italian team’s three veteran big men. 

Milestone evening for Milan’s big men 

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan continued its recent improvement by overcoming ALBA Berlin, 82-76, at the Forum on Tuesday night, and it was a milestone evening for the Italian team’s three veteran big men.

Firstly, the veteran to end all veterans, Kyle Hines, dished 4 assists in a typically influential performance that also included 4 offensive rebounds and 1 steal. Those helpers took Hines past the mark of 500 assists for his EuroLeague career, and Milan coach Ettore Messina was happy to pile the praise on the 38 year-old four-time champion.

“Those things that he does, we take for granted sometimes,” said Messina. “Still, at his age, he’s making fantastic plays and really carrying the load for this team.”

Hines wasn’t the most important big man on the night, with Nicolo Melli shining from start to finish as he contributed a game-high 16 points – including 8 in the first 6 minutes – along with 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.

That steal allowed Melli to move up one place in the competition’s all-time list of ball thieves, putting him in 15th place alongside former Panathinaikos great James Gist.

The leading rebounder in Tuesday’s contest was Milan’s Johannes Voigtmann, who took 6 balls off the defensive glass and 2 more at the other end.

And that saw Voigtmann also move up the all-time rankings, now with 1,192 career rebounds – overtaking Kerem Gonlum (1,189) and moving level with Adrien Moerman in 18th place.

More important than those numbers, however, is that they helped Milan secure a third consecutive home win and move within one victory of the all-important top 10 – with another game at the fortress-like Forum to follow later this week against Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade.

And Messina was extremely happy with his team’s work, saying: “It was a very, very important win. The players put a tremendous effort, what they did is absolutely remarkable. It’s not easy to play ALBA. You need to be patient, to have good defense, to rebound. In the second half we also played better offense, with more spacing. 

“Nic Melli was a pillar to sustain the team from minute one. And Devon Hall was absolutely crucial, like he has been in the last few games, for his decision-making, his defense, his personality. The whole team fought and competed in the second half.”

Hines, Melli and Voigtmann further cemented their place in history.

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan v ALBA Berlin (2024-01-09T19:30:00.000Z)

Real Madrid Baloncesto showed its quality in Round 20 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season as it stepped up to beat FC Bayern Basketball 71-92.

Gulf in class obvious as Real Madrid Baloncesto steamrolled FC Bayern Basketball

Real Madrid made light work of [its 71-92 whitewash of FC Bayern Munich](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/euroleague-live-blog-fc-bayern-basketball-vs-real-madrid-baloncesto/) in Round 20, tightening its grip on the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s top spot as the reigning champion improved its record to 18-2.

Bayern dropped to 8-12 after putting up a brave fight but the German side eventually succumbed in the home stretch, as Real came up with a 6-22 streak to race clear against the hosts, who ran out of steam against their more resourceful rival.

### Los Blancos showed their quality when needed

Real was in cruise control throughout the contest, fending off every Bayern attempt at a comeback. The visitors hit a three-pointer every time they needed to, vanquishing the hopes of Bayern’s head coach Pablo Laso of pulling off an upset against his former club.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">👊 ¡Triunfo en Múnich para sumar el noveno a domicilio en la <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Euroleague</a>! 👊<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HalaMadrid?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HalaMadrid</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/UnicajaBanco?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UnicajaBanco</a> <a href="https://t.co/VAjpP2hCIi">pic.twitter.com/VAjpP2hCIi</a></p>&mdash; Real Madrid Basket (@RMBaloncesto) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMBaloncesto/status/1744822551795118502?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Laso conceded the outcome was never in Bayern’s hands as Real thoroughly dominated at both ends of the court. “We didn’t execute well in the crucial moments,” Laso said in a flash post-game interview. “They were better in all departments and when a team plays like that, there isn’t much you can do. They showed why they are top of the standings.”

Indeed, Real outshot Bayern, dominated the boards, had more assists and fewer turnovers, yet the hosts gave their vocal fans hope that a miracle was possible when they cut the deficit to 65-70 with 5 minutes left.

They got a rude awakening as Real galloped away into the sunset, leaving Laso and his men in a pile of dust.

### Keeping their feet on the ground

Yet, Real’s head coach Chus Mateo, who succeeded Laso at the helm, once again proved he is a hard man to please as he refrained from praising his seemingly impregnable unit, having instead struck a note of caution.

“We need to keep going,” he stated. “We turned the ball over too many times tonight and allowed some easy points. We have to share the ball more and further improve the balance between our offense and defense.”

Veteran coach Pablo Laso tries to boost Bayern's postseason-prospects by masterminding an important and coveted victory against his old employers, as league-leaders Real seek to reaffirm their place at the summit and unleash the skills of Dzanan Musa after he netted a remarkable 40 points against Efes.

FC Bayern Munich-Real Madrid | Round 20 Highlights | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Vincent Poirier, the game’s top performer with 18 points, suggested it was business as usual for Real, having echoed Mateo’s view that there is no such thing as a perfect team. “We played a serious game for the full 40 minutes,” said the towering Frenchman.

“We controlled the rebound, we ran and we fixed whatever turnovers we committed. A pretty steady game. We keep working on our weaknesses as we try to improve in every game.”

Croatian forward Mario Hezonja offered his own realistic view, depicting Real as a team packed with top quality and well-equipped to deal with any opposition. “We have a lot of good players and we are ready for whatever may happen on the court,” he pointed out.

“Today we faced another extremely well-coached team and I am happy we got the away win. We go again on Thursday against Valencia.”

More Real Madrid News

Mario Hezonja of Real Madrid is defended by Isaac Bonga of FC Bayern Munich in Round 20 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

The hosts stayed in the game for most of the contest but folded when the chips were down.

Gulf in class obvious as Real Madrid steamrolled Bayern

FC Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (2024-01-09T19:00:00.000Z)

Jordan Loyd may not have stuffed the stat sheet in his return to the court for AS Monaco, but the guard exhibited much of the leadership he exudes in helping the team fight past Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 93-83. 

Monaco got a boost from Jordan Loyd's return 

Jordan Loyd may not have stuffed the stat sheet in his return to the court for AS Monaco, but the guard exhibited much of the leadership he exudes in helping the team fight past Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 93-83.

Loyd struggled shooting the ball in his first game since Round 12 on December 5, making just 1 of 7 shots and missing both of his free throws for 2 points and a performance index rating of -2. But the 30-year-old contributed 3 rebounds and 3 assists as he had plus/minus of +11.

"It’s always good to have him. He’s one of our leaders so just having him around the team and playing is good, even if he’s not up to his usual standards. So having him around and hearing his voice and having his leadership and continuity within the team helps a lot,” Monaco star Mike James of Loyd playing in just his sixth game this season.

Loyd had 19 points in Round 8 against Anadolu Efes Istanbul and scored 12 points in Round 7 versus LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, but he hasn’t remained healthy enough to be a major factor this season.

“It was definitely lovely. It felt more relaxed. As a team we are already used to him so it was like nothing for him to get back into the group,” Monaco defensive ace John Brown said about having Loyd back on the court.

Monaco coach Sasa Obradovic also appreciated Loyd’s effort, including the guard drawing an offensive foul on Chima Moneke with Monaco up 86-83 with 1:52 minutes left in the game.

“Having back Jordan, who is still trying to find his shape, was a big help,” the coach said.

Loyd has been struggling with a back injury that he had surgery for in the offseason and has been unable to play up to his outstanding level from last season. Playing his fourth season in the EuroLeague, Loyd averaged 12.3 points while shooting 50.3% on two-pointers and  37.1% on threes and collected 2.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals for a 13.4 PIR. Those numbers helped Monaco reach the Final Four.

Loyd returning to the Monaco lineup definitely gives the team a boost and him returning to his former level would be huge in Monaco’s chances moving forward.

The star guard played a key role in his return from injury. 

LDLC ASVEL got the Pierric Poupet era off a winning start by beating KK Crvena zvezda 100-91 in Round 20 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague Regular Season.

LDLC ASVEL outguns KK Crvena zvezda, 100-91

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Edwin Jackson of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne is defended by Rokas Giedraitis of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade in Round 20 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

The French side got off to a winning start under new head coach Pierric Poupet.

ASVEL outguns Crvena Zvezda, 100-91

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne v Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (2024-01-09T19:30:00.000Z)

Zalgiris Kaunas (7-13) claimed a 79-84 road win at Valencia Basket (10-10) in Round 20 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague Regular Season.

Zalgiris celebrates 79-84 victory in Valencia

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EuroLeague Live Blog: Valencia Basket vs. Zalgiris Kaunas.

Zalgiris won on the road for the road for the first time in the Coach Trinchieri era.

Olimpia Milano records an 82-76 home win over ALBA Berlin in Round 20 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague Regular Season.

Milan takes 82-76 home win over ALBA

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EuroLeague Live Blog: EA7 Emporio Armani Milan vs. ALBA Berlin.

Nicolo Melli led five Milan scorers in double figures with 16 points. 