Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade got back on the winning track behind a huge third quarter to beat visiting ALBA Berlin 88-74 on Thursday night at Stark Arena. ALBA led for the majority of the first half, but Partizan scored the first 9 points of the third as part of a 16-2 run en route to turning a 42-44 deficit into a 77-53 lead. ALBA got within 10 points with 3 minutes to go and had possession, but Partizan's 6-0 push iced the game.

Aleksa Avramovic was the game's top scorer with 19 points on 5-for-7 three-point shooting. Kevin Punter finished with 16 points, Zach LeDay had 13 points and Mathias Lessort collected 10 points and 6 rebounds. Maodo Lo scored 17 for ALBA, while Yanni Wetzell and Johannes Thiemann tallied 10 apiece in a losing effort.

Game Videos

Christ Koumadje's presence in the paint on both ends of the floor and back-to-back threes from Lo and Jonas Mattisseck put ALBA up 5-12 early on. Partizan replied with an 11-2 run behind Dante Exum and Ioannis Papapetrou as the hosts opened a 20-16 lead in the final minute of the first. 

But Thiemann beat the first-quarter buzzer and then hit another triple early in the second as ALBA put together a 0-10 run to go back in front. Avramovic stepped up, though, stringing together 11 points including back-to-back-to-back three-pointers to give Partizan a 31-30 edge. Lo answered with a triple of his own and Jaleen Smith and Mattisseck added one apiece for ALBA to go up 35-42, only for Partizan to get it within 42-44 at the break.

Game News

Partizan opened the third quarter with an 11-0 run, which included one triple from Avramovic and a pair from Alen Smailagic. A three-pointer from Danilo Andjusic made it 56-46 and the second one from Andjusic started a 12-2 spurt, capped by another three from Avramovic for a 70-50 advantage. Lo ended ALA's drought, but Punter's three-pointer helped make it 77-53 after 30 minutes. 

With the game out of hand, Wetzell ignited ALBA's offense early in the fourth quarter. The visitors held Partizan to just 3 points in the first 7 minutes. Gabriele Procida scored 6 straight and ALBA cut it to 80-70 and had possession. But Partizan answered through Punter, who sparked a 6-0 run, to seal the outcome.

Partizan sinks ALBA with big third quarter

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade v ALBA Berlin (2023-03-02T20:00:00.000Z)

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

"I believe the third quarter was obviously the key of this game. We played excellent defense, allowed only 9 points and were very good offensively. After that, we stopped a little bit, however, congratulations to my team, an important win for us. If we talk about defense, the third quarter was one of the best quarters of the season for sure.

"We always try to react in every game, to understand where we make mistakes in the first half and what we can change. I have young assistants doing a great job, and I want to thank them for it. We have a live scout, so when we come into the locker room, we already have certain things prepared from the game we show to the players. So we showed them three situations when we easily allowed points when we actually did not even try to play defense. That's where we started, to be closer to the players, to not allow a single easy shot, and that's how it turned out that third quarter with a phenomenal defense. And we played well offensively, sometimes the energy on defense turns into something really positive on offense. 

"We slowed down in the fourth quarter, but I guess it was from the satisfaction that you lead by more than 20 points. ALBA is a good team, they move really well without the ball on offense, and they punish opponents' aggressiveness with backdoor situations, scoring easy points. In the first half, we probably were too afraid of those backdoor cuts, and we let them shoot. Every game is important, no one is qualified, and no teams are eliminated yet. Not to speak about us between the sixth and 14th place, how close we all are."

### ALBA Berlin head coach Israel Gonzalez:

"Congratulations to Partizan, they played a very good game, especially the second half. With our problems with injuries and sickness with had a different team than we had last week. Partizan played with a very good energy in the third quarter we could not match. We focused too much on the refs, that was very important, and the environment was difficult for us. They were better than us. Sometimes the other team does better than you."

### Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade center Mathias Lessort:

"Not my personal best game, but all that matters is that we got the win. Everyone stepped up in the second half. The third quarter was the key. It was mainly on defense, it was a team effort. We need more wins to get to the top eight. It is a big win for us. Last week we did not finish the job against Fenerbahce, so we had to bounce back today. Now we have a double-week, two games coming, so it was a good way to get confidence for those two games on the road."

### Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade guard Kevin Punter:

"ALBA is a tough team regardless of their effort. They came in and they fought. They tried to make it close at the end, so we had to really make sure to cut down the turnovers and seal the game. They kept fighting but we were able to finish the game and take care of the home court. continue to try to make the push for the top eight places. In the third quarter, we needed to lock in. We wanted to come out strong after the first half, we were down 2 points, so we wanted to make a statement, come out strong, aggressive defensively, and everything else would flow."

Zeljko Obradovic, Partizan: 'We played one of our best quarters all season'

Shane Larkin, Efes: 'This was a big win for us'

### Anadolu Efes Istanbul head coach Ergin Ataman: 

"It was a strange game. To play a game in that situation, with big disasters happening in both countries, For us it’s been three weeks, we’ve lost almost 50,000 people and many still missing. I know it was a big disaster for Greece yesterday but EuroLeague decided to play the game. For us it was an important game and our situation in the standings. We didn’t start well but at the end of the first half when Larkin and Clyburn started to find their scoring, we turned the game. The third quarter was key for us because we played perfect, very good defense and we shared the ball very well. We put the game under control, we were good at rebounds and assists. Will Clyburn played like a star and a champion while Shane Larkin was the only point guard tonight. He controlled the game as he had 10 assists, so it’s an important victory for us.

"Micic has started with individual practice and he is still undergoing therapy. The situation in the last two-three days has been positive. I spoke with him before we arrived here and he will start with team practice early next week. If he feels comfortable, he will be back in action. The problem is that twice he started to practice but the problem with his knee returned immediately. It was a big problem because surgery was mentioned, but the doctors said it’s not necessary right now. I hope with the therapy he will be able to return because he is another great player on our team who gave us so much in the last four years."

### Panathinaikos Athens head coach Christos Herelis: 

"It was very difficult for us to play the game today, we had this tragic accident and everybody’s thoughts were with the families of the victims. As far as the game is concerned, it is very difficult to win when you allow your opponent to score 24 two-point shots. It’s also very difficult when you concede 87 points on home court. There were moments when we played better defense than in previous games, but we need to improve our defensive tactics. Also, it’s very important for me to improve our offense. We scored 82 points on just 11 assists, meaning we have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of games until the end so it’s very important to work hard every day."

### Anadolu Efes Istanbul forward Will Clyburn: 

"I am just happy we got the win. The team fought, especially when we got into foul trouble as everybody had to play out of position a little bit. Everybody played hard and fought today.“

### Anadolu Efes Istanbul guard Shane Larkin: 

"It feels good. I am known to score a lot but I am playing at point guard now with Vasa \[Micic\], out so I am just trying to get everybody involved and make sure the team is successful. We’ve all been in these tough situations before, we are a veteran team so whenever we have guys in foul trouble it’s the ’next-man’ mentality. We are taking it game by game and doing what we have to do to get big wins and this was definitely a big one for us."

Panathinaikos Athens v Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2023-03-02T19:00:00.000Z)

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Thursday Blog: Efes triumphs in Athens, four others win at home

FC Bayern Munich v Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (2023-03-02T18:00:00.000Z)

FC Barcelona v Zalgiris Kaunas (2023-03-02T18:00:00.000Z)

AS Monaco v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2023-03-02T20:00:00.000Z)

AS Monaco took another step forward in the playoff race by downing Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 86-67 at Salle Gaston Medecin on Thursday. Monaco improved to 16-10 in the standings and got the tiebreak advantage against Maccabi, which dropped to 13-13 and suffered its fifth road loss in its last six games outside of Tel Aviv. Elie Okobo led a 15-0 fourth-quarter run that made the difference in the game.

Jordan Loyd led the winners with 18 points. Donta Hall and Mike James each added 12 while Elie Okobo and Alpha Diallo scored 11 apiece for Monaco. Hall added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Wade Baldwin led Maccabi with 17 points. Bonzie Colson added 16 and Josh Nebo pulled down 10 rebounds for the visitors.

Loyd struck from downtown and James followed a jumper with a floater in a 9-0 opening run. Diallo's jumper soon made it 14-2. Baldwin and Lorenzo Brown managed to bring Maccabi within 21-14. James got help from Hall to make Monaco establish a 30-17 margin after 10 minutes. 

Maccabi found a go-to guy in Colson, who had 7 points in a 0-10 run that brought the visitors back to life, 30-27. Colson kept pacing the Maccabi and Roman Sorkin's fastbreak dunk tied it at 36-36. Loyd downed a three-pointer that fixed the halftime score at 39-36.

Baldwin was unstoppable after the break, following a fastbreak slam with a jumper. He soon added a three-pointer that gave Maccabi its first lead, 50-52. Monaco found a new go-to guy in Chima Moneke, who had a dunk and a couple of put-back layups. John DiBartolomeo and Lorenzo Brown each buried a three-pointer for a 58-59 Maccabi lead after 30 minutes. 

Okobo struck twice from beyond the arc, Diallo added a jump hook and a jumper and Hall had a huge block in a 15-0 run that broke the game open, 73-59. LIttle changed after that, as Monaco cruised to a well-deserved, important victory.

Loyd leads Monaco past Maccabi, 86-67

### AS Monaco head coach Sasa Obradovic:

"Every loss is disappointing, but this is a great win. The way we won the game is also amazing, thanks to my players, they did a great job. Defensively, this is how you can dream big, if you play the defense that we played in the second half."

### Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv head coach Oded Kattash:

"The same thing that happened in the first quarter. They came out really aggressive and we let them play and we lost the game. It's tough, we knew it was not going to be easy. We tried to give some few minutes of rest to some of our players but in the end, we lost defensively, I think but both quarters, first and fourth, also offensively, we are not patient enough."

### AS Monaco guard Jordan Loyd:

"Our mentality, our intensity \[changed in the fourth quarter\]. I am just super proud because tonight we answered. They made a run in the first half and a lot of times, we put our heads down. Tonight, we really fought and I am really happy for that. Winning solves a lot of stuff, right? We are really excited. We just want to build off this. We have a lot more work to do, because it is just one game, and we are on to the next."

### AS Monaco center Donta Hall:

"Coming out at halftime, I had to get myself together because I knew they needed me, and I needed it myself. So just coming out at halftime, being me, having fun, playing my game. It's great \[the spirit of the game\], they never went down, if you want me to be honest with you. We just knew what we had to work on, get smart things down that we knew we could do. It never went down, the spirit is great."

### Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv forward Bonzie Colson: 

"I think we gave ourselves a chance to win and they hit some big shots. We didn't get some defensive rebounds, that hurt us. That definitely hurts but still, we have to continue to grow and get better. We still showed fight today, which shows our character, but we couldn't get some stops and execute offensively down the stretch, and that hurt us. We just couldn't get stops and our offense was out of flow. They played well, attacked the glass and executed."

Coach Obradovic, Monaco: 'This is how you can dream big'

Nikola Mirotic started in this game and thanked his coach for that with 12 points in the first quarter which turned into 28 at the end of the game. 

Mirotic exploded to lift Barcelona past Zalgiris

FC Barcelona players probably had some bitter memories of the game they played against Zalgiris in Round 4. On that occasion, the Lithuanian team defeated Barcelona 73-72 in a contest that went down to the wire, with 15 points coming from a former teammate, Rolands Smits. This time, though, the Catalonians gave no chance to Zalgiris, amassing a 10-point lead at halftime that grew up to 26 points (74-48) late in the third period.

One of the reasons for such a pleasant evening was Nikola Mirotic, who was absent due to an injury in the previous matchup. He started in this game and thanked his coach for that with 12 points in the first quarter which turned into 28 at the end of the game. He was almost perfect from the field, making 6 of his 7 two-pointers and nailing 3 three-pointers from 6 attempts. He didn’t miss any of his 7 free throws and also provided 2 rebounds, good for a PIR of 27 in just 26 minutes on the court.

"I felt good, especially from the beginning, when I made my first three," Mirotic said after the game. "During the season I struggled sometimes, some games offensively, but I continue to work on myself, to get better to help the team, sometimes it’s offensively, sometimes it’s defensively, but I’m always trying to be positive, to do my best."

This was his best scoring mark this season, and the first one above the 20-point barrier, as his previous season-high took place against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in Round 18, when he finished with 19 points.

"I think that scoring 28 points is always good for any player to gain confidence," Barcelona head coach Sarunas Jasikevicus pointed out during the press conference. "It’s not a headline that he makes 28 points in a game, because he is so good, but he has been solid in some other aspects too, he was much into the game, stole some balls, he was strong physically and this is the key for him."

Reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion Anadolu Efes Istanbul engineered an 82-87 road win at Panathinaikos Efes on Thursday. Forward Will Clyburn racked up 24 points and 7 rebounds while guard Shane Larkin amassed 13 and 10 assists to lead the Turkish team past the home side, whose Marius Grigonis produced his best performance of the season with 23 points. Efes improved to 13-12 and boosted its hopes of reaching the playoffs while the Greens dropped to 8-18 after losing their fifth in a row. It was also their second successive defeat under new coach Christos Serelis, who replaced Dejan Radonjic priot to Round 25. 

 Efes escapes Athens with 82-87 win 

Reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion Anadolu Efes Istanbul engineered an 82-87 road win at Panathinaikos Efes on Thursday. Forward Will Clyburn racked up 24 points and 7 rebounds while guard Shane Larkin amassed 13 and 10 assists to lead the Turkish team past the home side, whose Marius Grigonis produced his best performance of the season with 23 points. Efes improved to 13-12 and boosted its hopes of reaching the playoffs while the Greens dropped to 8-18 after losing their fifth in a row. It was also their second successive defeat under new coach Christos Serelis, who replaced Dejan Radonjic priot to Round 25. 

Elijah Bryant contributed 16 points for Efes, who again missed superstar point guard Vasilije Micic. Center Ante Zizic added 12 points and 7 rebounds to a flowing team effort producing 17 assists and only 7 turnovers. Paris Lee netted 19 points for Panathinaikos but the supporting cast misfired badly, with Dwayne Bacon and Derrick Williams combining for a modest 9 points.

Panathinaikos enjoyed a decent opening 15 minutes, reaching a 32-25 lead, although the home team struggled to contain Clyburn, who posted 15 points and 5 rebounds in the first half. Midway through the second quarter, Larkin found another gear and turned the tide with some dazzling drives to the basket and spectacular assists that left his teammates with a simple task of netting easy buckets. Featuring in the less familiar position of a playmaker in the absence of Micic, Larkin thrived, dishing out assists like confetti as Efes took a 40-43 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The third quarter turned out to be pivotal as Efes built a 10-point lead, although Panathinaikos briefly slashed it to just 54-56. A late 8-0 run put Efes back in control with Larkin again taking center stage. Bryant also stepped up to the plate for the visitors when it mattered and there was no way back for the home team after Efes carved out a 16-point advantage (61-77) midway through the fourth quarter. The Greens launched a late onslaught and trimmed the deficit to single digits but it was too little too late as Efes ran the clock down and emerged a well-deserved winner.

Efes escapes Athens with 82-87 win

FC Barcelona gave visiting Zalgiris Kaunas no chance in earning a no-doubt-about-it 93-74 win at Palau Blaugrana on Thursday night. The hosts avenged their 73-72 loss of Round 4 against the same Zalgiris to get their fifth victory in a row and improve to 18-8. With its fourth straight road loss, Zalgiris slipped to 13-13. Nikola Mirotic led all scorers with 28 points in just 26 minutes, going for 6-for-7 in two.pointers and 3-for-6 from behind the arc. Tomas Satoransky tallied 12 points and 5 assists, while Sertac Sanli scored 10 for the winners. 

Barcelona rolls Zalgiris, 93-74

FC Barcelona gave visiting Zalgiris Kaunas no chance in earning a no-doubt-about-it 93-74 win at Palau Blaugrana on Thursday night. The hosts avenged their 73-72 loss of Round 4 against the same Zalgiris to get their fifth victory in a row and improve to 18-8. Zalgiris stayed close after 10 minutes and managed to reach halftime trailing by just 10, but the visitors were totally deactivated after the break as Barcelona used a 20-6 run to established a 74-48 margin late in the third period. With its fourth straight road loss, Zalgiris slipped to 13-13.

Nikola Mirotic led all scorers with 28 points in just 26 minutes, going for 6-for-7 in two.pointers and 3-for-6 from behind the arc. Tomas Satoransky tallied 12 points and 5 assists, while Sertac Sanli scored 10 for the winners. Ignas Brazdeikis was Zalgiris's top contributor with 15 points, followed by Laurynas Birutis, who scored 12 points and grabbed 4 boards.

Mirotic and Jan Vesely were the weapons for Barcelona in the early going, as no one else on the home team scored in the first quarter. The former went for 12 points, including a couple of three-pointers, as the latter contributed 7 that granted the hosts a slight 19-17 edge after 10 minutes. With Mirotic resting on the bench, Barcelona managed to find some extra sources of scoring, and successive three-point plays by Alex Abrines, Sanli and Mike Tobey opened a 28-20 advantage. Zalgiris tried to stop it with a timeout but found no success. Barcelona kept scoring steadily and the visitors were only getting points from the foul line. Thanks to that, the difference went no further than 10 points, 46-36, at halftime.

The situation got much better for the home team when the game resumed. Nicolas Laprovittola opened fire with a three-pointer as a sign of things to come. The hosts started scoring on each possession, going for a 20-6 run that extended the margin to 74-48 late in the third quarter and to 77-54 entering the last one. With the outcome in no doubt, Zalgiris tried to show some pride and kept fighting to try to reduce the disadvantage to more reasonable figures, but without success. On the other side, Barcelona used the game to grant some minutes to players like Kyle Kuric, who had not scored in the Euroleague since Round 19.