Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade headed into the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs as the underdog against the competition’s record 10-time winner Real Madrid, but the Serbian team tore up the script in Game 1 of their best-of-five series – just like the last time it reached the postseason.

 Partizan dares to dream after Punter's heroics 

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade headed into the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs as the underdog against the competition’s record 10-time winner Real Madrid, but the Serbian team tore up the script in Game 1 of their best-of-five series – just like the last time it reached the postseason.

That was in 2010, when Partizan defeated Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in Game 1 with a 77-85 road victory before going on to win the series 3-1, thus reaching the Final Four in Paris. Having beaten Real 87-89 on Tuesday, Partizan must surely be dreaming of a déjà vu situation after its team captain, Kevin Punter, forced the final twist when he sank a breathtaking three-pointer with only 0.4 seconds left on the clock.

It was easily the best performance of Punter’s career, as he set a flurry of personal playoff records in what could turn out to be a pivotal win in Partizan’s quest to emulate its 2010 accomplishment. He scored a game-high 26 points, shattering his previous record of 20, while he also dished 6 assists and nailed 5 three-pointers as he carried his team to victory against more heralded opposition.

The see-saw game, which saw the lead change hands throughout, was also a rollercoaster for Punter, too, as a quiet first quarter made way for an explosive second, with the livewire guard finishing the first half on 15 points. He was largely invisible in the third quarter, having spent much of it on the bench, but then he took over in the fourth and got his reward with a game-winning shot, which must have felt like a dagger in the hearts of Real’s players and fans.

While the home crowd left the gym in a hurry, the boisterous away fans who made the trip to Madrid danced in delight – as did the players on the court – but Punter remained as humble as ever, having stressed that Partizan could ill-afford to rest on laurels.

“It’s a big playoff win on the road, but this is only Game 1,” the 29-year-old said in a flash post-game interview. When asked if he expected to be in a position to force the final twist in the dying seconds, he said: “We just wanted to switch. I knew that if we could switch, I could just milk it down and hit my spot.” Commenting on quiet spells in the game, Punter stressed: “I had to stay the course. We have some amazing players and I just wanted to stay focused, get open looks and defensive stops.”

The best scoring plays of Kevin Punter in his 26-point performance for Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade against Real Madrid in Game 1 of the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs.

Kevin Punter's scoring highlights vs. Real Madrid

The American forward, who also played for Partizan’s bitter city rival Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade in 2019-2020, won his personal battle against Real forward Gabriel Deck, who would have been a worthy man of the game had Punter not enabled the visitors to have the last laugh.

Deck led Real with 24 points, and it looked like he had done enough to protect his team’s home-court advantage. The Argentine completed a three-point play on Real’s last possession, having drawn a foul while sinking a tough floater. He then buried the free throw to give Real an 87-86 lead, before Punter delivered the knockout blow, sending his teammates into raptures.

The ever-demanding head coach, Zeljko Obradovic, who won the first of his record nine EuroLeague titles with five different clubs during his maiden spell at Partizan in 1992, struck a note of caution ahead of Game 2 on Thursday.

“That’s the beauty of basketball,” Obradovic told reporters after the game. “\[Real\] had a three-point play, then we gave the ball to Kevin \[Punter\] and he clinched it with a three-point shot. However, there will be no complacency. That’s the worst thing we can do – and it’s the first thing I told the players in the locker room.”

Game 2 takes place on Thursday night, back at WiZink Center once again, but this victory is a huge boost for Partizan as it attempts to reach May's Final Four. Coach Obradovic wants the Partizan players to keep their feet on the ground, but for the club's fans, they have every right to start to dream – and they have Punter to thank.

Game Videos

Game News

Partizan dares to dream after Punter's heroics

Real Madrid v Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (2023-04-25T18:45:00.000Z)

Playoffs, Game 1 disciplinary sanctions

- Mr Oren Atar, individual related to Maccabi Tel Aviv has been sanctioned with a fine of €3,000 together a one game ban of attending Maccabi Tel Aviv games for committing acts that show lack of respect towards the officiating crew, on occasion of its away game against AS MONACO under Article 27.2.b) of the Euroleague Basketball Disciplinary Code.
- Olympiacos Piraeus has been sanctioned with a fine of €4,000 for the use of laser pointers against the people involved in a game, on occasion of its home game against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul under Article 29.2.f) of the Euroleague Basketball Disciplinary Code

Euroleague Basketball has announced the following disciplinary sanction pertaining to incidents that occurred in Game 1 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague playoffs.

[Kevin Punter](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/kevin-punter/009862/) blew up the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs on opening night with [a game-winning three-pointer](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2022-23/real-madrid-partizan-mozzart-bet-belgrade/E2022/309/) from the wing. Here's how it happened.

After Punter's free throws had put Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade ahead 84-86 on Real Madrid's floor with 34 seconds left, Gabriel Deck immediately responded with a three-point play for an 87-86 lead with 21 seconds left.

In the timeout to set up Partizan's last play, Zeljko Obradovic first designed an inbounds strategy from the far end of the court, and then instructed his players to screen high to force a switch by Real's defense and then make their move with 6 or 7 seconds left to take a three-pointer or draw a foul. "After that, the defense won't foul \[purposefully\]," he said right before the players walked on court.

Real defended the inbounds well, forcing the pass to Partizan center Mathias Lessort, who had to bring the ball across midcourt, arriving just barely before an eight-second violation. There he handed the ball off to Punter. Real could have trapped Punter in the corner formed by the mid-court and sidelines, but chose not to. That's when Punter took over.

Kevin Punter: Anatomy of a game-winner

Punter asked for a screen from Lessort right away, forcing a switch. His defender, Nigel Williams-Goss, went with Lessort, leaving Punter to be guarded by power forward Guerschon Yabusele, who was playing center at this point due to injuries to Real centers Walter Tavares and Vincent Poirier. As Punter dribbled to the left wing with 9 seconds left, Partizan's spacing made it difficult for Real to run another defender at him and force him to pass. There were shooters in both corners and the other wing, while Lessort had an advantage near the basket against Williams-Goss until the latter switched with Mario Hezonja. But by then, Punter was making his move.

He went between his legs, crossed over and stepped forward as if to shoot, bringing Yabusele a step towards him, but keeping his dribble alive. In that split second, Punter sidestepped out of Yabusele's range, sprang into the air and let the shot fly. The rest is history.

"The ball was in his hands;" Obradovic said after the game. "I was asking that he be the one to decide the game. Whether for two or three, it did not matter. This wasn't his first time, and I hope it will not be his last. He does that in practices. He is dedicated. And thanks to the fact he works on his shot, endless repetitions, it has practically become an automation for him."

Indeed, Punter's teammates were the least surprised of all.

"Every day in the practice he does it," Aleksa Avramovic said. "Whether it is pick-and-roll, one-on-one, low post, he comes in early, an hour, hour and a half, and practices his shots. It is not much for him. [He hit it already against Monaco when we secured the playoffs](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/videos/mm5-mco-par-tae2223-rs33/)."

As Punter explained it: "We just wanted to switch. I knew that if we could switch, I could just milk it down and hit my spot."

Said and done, one for the memories.

Anatomy of a game-winner

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It was not being the best of nights for Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv center Josh Nebo, but he had a stellar second half which allowed his team to beat AS Monaco 67-79 in Game 1 of the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs. 

Josh Nebo turned things around for Maccabi in Game 1

It was not being the best of nights for Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv center Josh Nebo, but he had a stellar second half which allowed his team to beat AS Monaco 67-79 in Game 1 of the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs.

 

Nebo struggled early, clearly feeling uncomfortable against Monaco's switching defense. He had steals specialist John Brown on him the majority of the time, and Maccabi simply could not connect with Nebo down low.

 

In fact, Nebo was not even able to shoot before the break. He went scoreless in the first half, picking up 1 foul and grabbing 1 rebound in the first quarter, before getting 1 assist, another rebound and 1 foul in the second quarter. At halftime, Nebo had no field goal or free-throw attempts and a PIR of 1.

 

Things were different after the break, however, as Maccabi looked for Nebo from the very first play – and he made sure he was much more active, grabbing a big defensive rebound right away. He followed that with an uncontested dunk 14 seconds later, finally getting his rhythm going. Nebo soon added a tip-in and a floater, as well as rebounding well on the defensive end.

 

Not long after, Nebo added an alley-oop layup and paired with teammates Darrun Hilliard and Lorenzo Brown to help Maccabi pull away, 47-60, late in the third quarter. He rounded off his outstanding second half with a high-flying alley-oop dunk midway through the fourth quarter.

Josh Nebo scored all of his 12 points in the second half to lead Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv to a 67-79 road win against AS Monaco in Game 1 of the 2023 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Playoffs.

Nebo bounces back after halftime

In the end, Nebo finished the game with 12 points on 6-of-6 two-pointers, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and a PIR of 19. Once Maccabi found him, it had a much better balance on offense, as all of its guards – Wade Baldwin and Brown in particular – had more space to finish around the rim and create for others.

 

Nebo knew that Maccabi had to win on the road in order to have a chance and he is glad that his team did it the right way. "It is going to be a very physical series. Both teams want to win, so we are going to expect it to be even more physical and tougher going into Game 2," Nebo said afterward. "For us, to win the series, we had to win one game on the road, because they had the home-court \[advantage\]. I am glad we got it done today."

 

It might be a long series, and Nebo is aware of it. Now that it has grabbed the road win it needed, Maccabi needs to be concentrated on the next task.

 

"They lost on their home court, but that doesn't mean the series is won," Nebo added. "They can easily win in our place, so we have to stay focused, stay hungry and keep going like we did today."  

AS Monaco v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2023-04-25T18:15:00.000Z)

Real Madrid suffered a tough 87-89 home loss to Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in Game 1 and, although the winner of a record 10 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague titles was a whisker away from coming out on top, the hosts just couldn’t cope with losing their towering center Walter Tavares due to a knee injury.

Losing Walter Tavares was a killer blow for Real Madrid

Real Madrid suffered a tough 87-89 home loss to Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in Game 1 and, although the winner of a record 10 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague titles was a whisker away from coming out on top, the hosts just couldn’t cope with losing their towering center Walter Tavares due to a knee injury.

With Partizan gaining the upper hand in the first half thanks to a barrage of three-pointers – the visitors were 8-for-14 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes – Tavares kept Real afloat as he dominated the paint at both ends of the court. He barely got a respite, having spent 19:16 minutes on the floor through the first two quarters.

Tavares limped off into the locker room with a sore knee before the rest of the team and when he returned after the halftime break, his knee was strapped and his body language at the start of the third quarter left little room for doubt that he was injured.

Tavares, who posted 12 points and 5 rebounds in 21:50 minutes on the court, never returned after he was benched early in the third and could only watch helplessly from the sidelines.

Real then lost its authority in the paint and, although the hosts looked the more likely winners down the stretch, they ultimately paid the price as Partizan center Mathias Lessort finally found some space to exploit in the fourth quarter.

Having failed to protect its home-court advantage, Real can only hope that Tavares will recover for Game 2 on Thursday – otherwise the Spanish side faces an uphill task to turn the series around and reach the 2023 Final Four in Kaunas.

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv struck first in its best-of-five series against AS Monaco, as it downed the French side 67-79 on the road on Tuesday. Maccabi took a 0-1 lead and now has the upper hand in this series. In Game 1 at Salle Gaston Medecin, being really physical was the main key.

Maccabi stopped Monaco's running game 

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv struck first in its best-of-five series against AS Monaco, as it downed the French side 67-79 on the road on Tuesday. Maccabi took a 0-1 lead and now has the upper hand in this series. In Game 1 at Salle Gaston Medecin, being really physical was the main key.

Maccabi outrebounded Monaco 32-38. The hosts ranked first for offensive rebounds at the end of the regular season, averaging 12.4 per night, yet Maccabi only allowed Monaco to pull down 6 offensive rebounds as it grabbed 29 defensive boards. In other words, Maccabi got 82.9% of all rebounds under its own rim. Monaco finished the game with 26 defensive rebounds, and Maccabi got 9 offensive boards. Monaco only grabbed 74.3% of all rebounds around its basket.

Sasa Obradovic's side also struggled from beyond the arc, which was another key to Maccabi's victory. It downed 4-of-26 three-pointers, which is Monaco's lowest three-point shooting percentage at Salle Gaston Medecin in any EuroLeague game since joining the competition two years ago. Its previous lowest mark was 21.7% against Olympiacos in Game 4 of the 2022 playoffs. Maccabi, meanwhile, sank 7-of-23 three-pointers (30.4%), which was not perfect but it was good enough to make the difference.

Real Madrid outfought Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in many departments of their Game 1 matchup in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs, but crucially, the visitors outgunned their more illustrious rivals with some superb three-point shooting in an 87-89 road win on Tuesday.

It was only fitting that Partizan team captain Kevin Punter dealt the knockout blow with a sweet shot beyond the arc, with just 0.4 seconds left on the clock, as the Serbian side buried 13 of its 26 shots from downtown. Real, in contrast, struggled as it went a mere 7-for-22 from long range.

The visitors also shot 24-for-27 from the foul line while Real made 18-of-25, hence the home team's superiority in rebounding (35-30) and assists (16-13) failed to bear fruit in the end. Real also made its physicality count from two-point range (24-for-42), as Partizan only sank 13-of-29 efforts from inside the arc, but when the chips were down it was Punter’s audacious three-pointer that settled the rip-roaring contest.

Punter, who scored a game-high 26 points, won his personal battle against Real’s Gabriel Deck, who netted 24 and must have thought he’d won it for Real with a three-point play on the home team’s last possession. But Punter was not to be denied, nailing a superb shot over Guerschon Yabusele to silence the home crowd in Madrid and ensure that Partizan walked away a crucial Game 1 victory.

Real Madrid undone by Partizan’s long-range artillery

Mathias Lessort, Partizan: 'Tonight, we are going to be happy'

### Zeljko Obradovic, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade head coach

“Luck was on our side. Kevin \[Punter\] hit that shot, we used his quality. Obviously, it was a tough game. It’s 1-0 now, but nothing is decided. This is Real Madrid we are up against. All the credit to the players, they played a very good game and congratulations to them.”

 

### Chus Mateo, Real Madrid head coach

“We did our best. It’s not easy to lose like this, but we have to keep fighting because there is a long way to go.”

 

### Kevin Punter, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade guard

“It’s a big playoff win on the road, but this is only Game 1.

(Asked if he knew the last play of the game was coming to him): “We just wanted to switch. I knew that if we could switch, I could just milk it down and hit my spot.

(Asked about a quiet spell in the second half ahead of his fourth-quarter heroics): “I had to stay the course. We have some amazing players and I just wanted to stay focused, get open looks and get defensive stops.”

 

### Mathias Lessort, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade center

“It’s a big one, on the road. We know how hard it is to win on the road when you don’t have home-court advantage, but at the end of the day we need to win two more. So, tonight, we are going to be happy; tomorrow, we’re going to focus on the next game \[which is on Thursday\]. We played 34 games \[in the regular season\] to get to this point, we’ve had our ups and downs, good times and bad times, and all of that was to be able to have this moment right now. Having fun is not even the word – we are enjoying this moment and we’ll take nothing for granted.”