Zalgiris Kaunas had to battle for 40 minutes to top Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 79-75 in Round 24, breaking a three-game losing streak to improve to 13-11 in the standings.

Zalgiris struggled to rebound the ball under its own rim, as Baskonia reached halftime with 9 offensive rebounds. At the interval, Zalgiris had 9 defensive rebounds, grabbing just half of all boards under its own rim. Things were different in the second half, however, with Zalgiris recording 13 defensive rebounds and limiting Baskonia to 7 offensive boards. By grabbing 65% of all rebounds under its basket, Zalgiris improved its chances to win the game.

The hosts also shot the ball slightly better from all distances, which made the difference in such a close game. Zalgiris hit 19-of-33 two-point shots (57.6% 2FG), as Ronalds Smits nailed all of his 7 attempts inside the arc. It buried 8-of-23 three-pointers (34.8% 3FG), as Ignas Brazdeikis went 3-of-4 from downtown, and 17-of-19 free throws (89.5% FT). Baskonia had the worst percentages all around (55.3% 2FG, 24.0% 3FG, 75.0% FT).

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Zalgiris rebounded better to beat Baskonia

Zalgiris Kaunas v Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (2023-02-10T18:00:00.000Z)

EuroLeague Live Blog, Round 24: French Derby highlights three-game slate

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Live Blog: Valencia, Zalgiris grab tight wins!

AS Monaco v LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (2023-02-10T18:00:00.000Z)

Panathinaikos Athens v Valencia Basket (2023-02-10T19:00:00.000Z)

AS Monaco got back to winning ways on Friday night with a victory in the French Derby, defeating the visiting LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 87-75 at Salle Gaston Medecin. Monaco led for almost the entire night, but it needed a strong fourth quarter to secure the win, which saw it sweep ASVEL to improve to a 15-9 record and move into fourth place in the standing. ASVEL, who was without Nando De Colo, suffered its third straight defeat and dropped to 8-16 on the season.

Jordan Loyd led six double-digit Monaco players with 16 points, while Alpha Diallo had 12 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Donatas Motiejunas also scored 12, Mike James had 10 points and 7 assists, and Donta Hall and Elie Okobo also scored 10 apiece in the win. Retin Obasohan was ASVEL's top scorer with 11 points. Amine Noua had 10 points and 7 rebounds, and Alex Tyus paired 10 points with 6 rebounds.

Monaco took control right away thanks to back-to-back dunks from Diallo. A jumper and a triple from James opened a 17-9 margin. A three from John Brown helped make it 25-13, but two threes from Antoine Diot, including a half-court buzzer-beater, cut it to 28-21 after 10 minutes. Yakuba Ouattara and Loyd hit back-to-back threes to open the second quarter, before another basket from Loyd made it 36-22. ASVEL got its offense going with Obasohan and Youssoupha Fall, but Motiejunas kept the margin at double figures. The teams traded blows the rest of the half, yet Monaco took a 50-40 advantage into the break.

Dee Bost and Noua each had a three-pointer early in the third quarter, but Loyd hit from downtown for Monaco as the margin remained between 10 and 13 points until Diot's three-pointer made it 65-57. ASVEL went on to score the final 6 points of the quarter, capped with a pair of runners from Obasohan that cut it to 67-63. But, that's as close as the visitors got as Monaco opened the fourth quarter with an 8-1 run, not allowing a single field goal for more than three and a half minutes. Noua nailed a triple and Youssoupha Fall had a putback layup, but a triple from Elie Okobo with 2:04 to go made it 83-70, icing the game.

Monaco takes care of ASVEL, 87-75

In a physical game that went down to the wire, Zalgiris Kaunas broke a three-game losing streak in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season by downing Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 79-75 in front of a sellout crowd at Zalgirio Arena on Friday night. Zalgiris improved to 13-11 with the victory, but Baskonia keeps the tiebreaker and dropped to 13-11 after registering its fifth consecutive road loss.

Rolands Smits paced the winners with 20 points on 7-of-7 two-point shots. Edgaras Ulanovas added 16, while Ignas Brazdeikis had 15 for Zalgiris. Markus Howard led Baskonia with 15 points. Maik Kotsar added 12, and Rokas Giedraitis had 11 for the guests, which led 73-75 in the penultimate minute of the game. Smits hit a hook shot, then Arnas Butkevicius and Tomas Dimsa sealed the outcome from the foul line.

Kotsar scored down low and Howard buried a three-pointer for an early 4-7 Baskonia lead. Butkevicius stepped up with a putback layup and Smits added a couple of jumpers for a 12-12 tie. Ulanovas and Laurynas Birutis helped Zalgiris get a 20-18 advantage after 10 minutes. Steven Enoch took over early in the second quarter, then Howard and Giedraitis each struck from downtown for a 26-27 Baskonia lead. Howard and Giedraitis kept pacing Baskonia, Darius Thompson added consecutive baskets, and Matt Costello's backdoor layup fixed the halftime score at 38-42.

Dovydas Giedraitis struck from beyond the arc soon after the break and Smits allowed Zalgiris to regain a 46-44 lead. Brazdeikis's three-pointer boosted his team's lead to 54-49 soon after that. Kotsar stepped up for Baskonia, getting help from Tadas Sedekerskis and Sander Raieste to keep Baskonia within 61-60 after 30 minutes. Vanja Marinkovic and Max Heidegger restored a 65-69 Baskonia lead. Ulanovas followed a wild three-point play with a jumper to turn the game into a thriller, 71-71, with under four minutes left. It all came down to the final two minutes, in which Smits hit a critical shot and Butkevicius and Simsa were ice-cold from the foul line, before Zalgiris's defense did the rest.

Smits helps Zalgiris outlast Baskonia, 79-75

### Kazys Maksvytis, Zalgiris Kaunas head coach

"I liked all of this game. We talk about character and fighting until the end. We were behind almost all the game. It wasn't easy to be like this, but congratulations to my players and the fans. We fought until the end. We thought that we would win, and we won. It is very important, because after some losses you have some doubts, \[even\] if you are in a good way or not. We have a couple of days of rest, a couple of days with practices and \[then\] the team is back on the road. We are very happy.

"Congratulations to our team and our fans. It is not easy, from our side, to be behind all the game, but we fought until the end. We still were in the game, fought until the end and deserved this win. The only that we had, mostly, was offensive rebounds. They got a lot of second chances, it killed us all game long. But in the end, we grabbed this important rebounds, won and deserved this win."

### Joan Penarroya, Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz head coach

"In the last 2-3 minutes, we missed all the shots. We missed all the shots, and it is impossible to win in the last minutes if you don't score.

"Congratulations to Zalgiris for winning the game. I think we could have won, but in the last minutes of the second half, we have had problems with our offensive situations. Our percentages were bad. At the start of the game, I think we played with rhythm, but we didn't control our defensive rebounds and Zalgiris scored in easy situations after offensive rebounds. But I think, in the second quarter, we controlled our paint better. In the last quarter, in the last 2-3 minutes, we didn't score: only 2 points in the last three minutes. It is very difficult \[to win\] a close game if we don't score in the final minutes. I think that we competed well tonight. There was a great atmosphere and we played against a great team, so it was not easy to play in Kaunas. I think we competed better than in the last \[road\] games, but our problems on offense didn't give us options to win the game in the last minutes. At home, we play in front of our atmosphere, with our fans. We play faster, quicker, with more rhythm and confidence. But tonight, our problem was not in solid defensive situations, it was our percentages."

### Edgaras Ulanovas, Zalgiris Kaunas forward

"In general, in the last period, we have been suffering in the last couple of games, and I believe we deserved this win tonight because it was a lot of suffering during this game tonight. A lot of difficult situations, tight game at the end, and we really fought together until the last moment. We improved a lot offensively by sharing the ball, and played with a little more patience. I believe this is what we need to do even more in this situation, when we don't have point guards and are missing some players. In general, again, big character, and I hope we can build on this win in the future. If you make some shots, automatically you want to continue, so it is a natural approach. But tonight, Rolands \[Smits\] was amazing, also Iggy \[Ignas Brazdeikis\] at moments, Kevarrius \[Hayes\] made a huge block at the end. It is all about small things, not all the time about scoring."

### Rolands Smits, Zalgiris Kaunas forward

"I think that stopping the transition \[was the key\], because they are a very good team in transition, and playing hard from the first minute because they are playing very tough basketball, so we needed to start first. In some episodes, we didn't play how we needed to play but after that, we started to play as a team, tough basketball and it led to a win. It is crazy \[the atmosphere\] like always here, sold out. It is so good to play here!"

Rolands Smits, Zalgiris: 'It is so good to play here!'

Valencia Basket has been on a hot streak of late, having won five straight games before losing by 1 point to Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in Round 23. During that six-game stretch, homegrown swingman Josep Puerto played the best basketball of his career as Valencia improved to a 12-11 record.

Who's hot: Josep Puerto, Valencia Basket

Valencia Basket has been on a hot streak of late, having won five straight games before losing by 1 point to Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in Round 23. During that six-game stretch, homegrown swingman [Josep Puerto](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/josep-puerto/006643/) played the best basketball of his career as Valencia improved to a 12-11 record.

In his first two seasons in the competition, Puerto made 27 appearances but played more than 10 minutes in only four games. The 23-year-old entered this season with totals of just 29 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. 

However, Puerto started to get more opportunities from the start of this season, playing more than 13 minutes in each of the first 11 games. His biggest contributions came on the glass, however, while he scored just 46 points in the first 17 games of the campaign.

Who's hot: Josep Puerto Valencia Basket

Then, Puerto had a career-best night in Round 18 during a come-from-behind win against the two-time defending champs, Anadolu Efes Istanbul. Playing 29 minutes that night, he posted 15 points, going 4-for-4 from long range, and also pulled down 7 rebounds.

Since then, Puerto has played more than 17 minutes in each of the five games that followed and has been a factor each night, scoring 9 points three times and posting a PIR of 12 or more in three different games, too.

After averaging just 2.8 points in the first 17 games of the season, Puerto has scored a total of 54 points over the last six games for an average of 9.0. Puerto has done so by making 75.0% of his two-point shots and 53.3% of his three-pointers.

What's more, he improved his rebounding to 3.5 per game and more than quadrupled his average PIR, increasing it from 2.9 to 11.8 per game.

Puerto's performances have been instrumental in helping his hometown team put together a winning streak, despite having team leaders such as Chris Jones, Bojan Dubljevic, Jasiel Rivero, Sam Van Rossom, Victor Claver all miss time with injuries. 

As Valencia continues its push to reach the playoffs, Puerto will be looking to keep his run going when his team heads to the Greek capital to face Panathinaikos Athens this Friday night.

The story for the two French clubs in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague could not be more different heading into the fourth-ever edition of the French Derby this Friday evening (19:00 CET), as AS Monaco is fifth in the standings with a record of 14-9 while LCLC ASVEL Villeurbanne finds itself in 17th after going 8-15 through the first 23 rounds.

Monaco vs. ASVEL: David and Goliath battle in French Derby

The story for the two French clubs in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague could not be more different heading into the fourth-ever edition of the French Derby this Friday evening (19:00 CET), as AS Monaco is fifth in the standings with a record of 14-9 while LCLC ASVEL Villeurbanne finds itself in 17th after going 8-15 through the first 23 rounds.

Monaco has its sights set on the playoffs, whereas ASVEL is four games back of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in eighth. Yet, as is often the case in derbies, form tends to go out of the window in these big clashes between two teams that know each other so well.

Focus turns to France for a derby between two familiar-foes. ASVEL are enduring a troublesome crusade in Europe and are winless in their last five attempts, whereas Monaco are on course to repeat the feat of the previous season and cement their playoff-place.

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne vs AS Monaco - Round 11 - Highlights

The first meeting between Monaco and ASVEL this season at the Astroballe resulted in Sasa Obradovic's side grabbing a 75-84 road win, with Mike James and Donatas Motiejunas scoring 17 points apiece. That victory meant that Monaco had won both of its EuroLeague games at ASVEL's home since arriving in the competition in 2021.

However, when Monaco welcomed ASVEL to Salle Gaston Medecin in November 2021, William Howard's half-court heave in the final seconds of the game saw ASVEL grab a famous win. The road team has won in each of the three French derbies that have taken place, so will Monaco be able to break that streak this Friday or will ASVEL keep that run going?

William Howard wins it for ASVEL his inbounds pass was deflected but he retrieved the ball and swished a half-court buzzer-beater in the nick of time.

7DAYS Magic Moment of the Night: Howard wins it from half-court!

Nevertheless, Monaco has had ASVEL's number this season. In addition to its victory in Round 11, Monaco has also beaten ASVEL in both of their domestic matchups in 2022-23, winning 97-78 at home in early December before grabbing a 63-72 triumph on January 29. In this battle of David (ASVEL) vs. Goliath (Monaco), it is certainly Goliath that has had the upper hand so far.

"Even if we have not beaten them since the beginning of the season, we must not approach this game fearing Monaco," stated ASVEL head coach TJ Parker in the lead-up to Friday's game. "We must focus on us, on what we have to do to play eye to eye with them. When we put the necessary intensity from the beginning of games, we do great things. We must reproduce this all the time. We have 12 players to use; we have to be able to trust and use everyone."

The positive news for ASVEL is that its only absentee is Joffrey Lauvergne, who has been out of action since suffering an injury in Round 4. While the odds are stacked against the team from Lyon, one player who will be particularly eager to show what he can do against Monaco is Dee Bost, who joined ASVEL ahead of Round 20 but became a 7DAYS EuroCup champion with Roca Team in 2021.

Bost had a 5-point outing in a road win at EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on his debut, but since then he has averaged 11.7 points over the next three games. Back at his former home in Round 24, he has the opportunity to lead ASVEL to a famous win, just like it achieved last year. Together with legendary French guard Nando De Colo, they have the potential to cause plenty of problems for Monaco.

The best plays of LCLC ASVEL Villeurbanne between Rounds 20 and 23 in the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

ASVEL's best plays since Round 20

On the other side of things, Monaco has plenty of star talent that will no doubt be looking to dominate the spotlight. The team's guard trio of James, ex-ASVEL man Elie Okobo and Jordan Loyd are becoming more accustomed to playing alongside each other with each passing game, and that spells bad news for ASVEL.

While James is Monaco's star and has put himself firmly in the race to be named the EuroLeague MVP at the end of the season with some stellar performances, having averaged 20.3 points and 5.7 assists per game since Round 18, Okobo has ably supported him in recent weeks by increasing his scoring output, averaging 15.7 points in the last three contests. Last time out, against Real Madrid, James paced Monaco with 23 points, with Okobo adding 16.

When Monaco and ASVEL first met in the EuroLeague in Round 11, though, it was Loyd and not Okobo who joined James in double figures. Loyd finished with 11 points while Okobo only managed 5 on his first trip back to the Astroballe.

The best plays of AS Monaco between Rounds 20 and 23 in the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

Monaco's best plays since Round 20

However, in Round 12, Loyd suffered a severe facial injury against Real Madrid and only made his full return in Round 20, having played just 1:04 against Milan in Round 15. Despite going scoreless in his first game back – on the road at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul – he followed that up with 11 points and 12 points against Milan and ALBA Berlin, respectively, before scoring just 4 points at home to Real last Friday night. Loyd will be looking to get back on track against ASVEL in the French Derby.

Monaco ended up losing that game to Real, ending a four-game home unbeaten streak in the process, but if it is to get home-court advantage in the playoffs, it needs to be beating a struggling team like ASVEL. The visitors, meanwhile, come into this contest on the back of two defeats in the latest double-round week to Virtus Segafredo Bologna and Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, so responding in the right manner will be crucial.

On paper, it would be facile to suggest that Monaco is the overwhelming favorite. Yet, this is a derby and anything could happen. Make sure to tune in from 19:00 CET to see the fourth-ever edition of the French Derby!

Zvezda and Nedovic overcame Baldwin in record-breaking showdown

Coming off a poor personal double-round week which saw him total just 8 points – 4 in both games – in defeats to EA7 Emporio Armani Milan and Virtus Segafredo Bologna, Nemanja Nedovic still had plenty of reason to feel confident when he headed into Thursday night’s game at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. 

Why? Because the Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade sharpshooter’s best-ever performance in the competition came in the very same Menora Mivtachim Arena, when he netted 39 points for a PIR of 45 in an 89-81 defeat for his former team Panathinaikos in December 2020.

On Thursday night, Nedovic showed that he was again feeling comfortable in Tel Aviv as soon as he entered the game midway through the first quarter, sinking his first shot with a tough stepback three-pointer in the face of good defense. He then added another triple 90 seconds later before taking his tally to 8 points in 2 minutes on the next possession and continued to score for fun in the second quarter by sinking another pair of triples and finishing the first half with 18 points.

Nemanja Nedovic (28 points) Highlights vs. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, 02/09/2023

Nemanja Nedovic highlights vs Maccabi in Round 24

As if that wasn’t enough, Nedovic then returned off the bench midway through the third quarter and promptly added 8 more points in two minutes, including another pair of triples, which were crucial in stopping Maccabi’s attempts to get back into the game. Nedovic’s scoring spree took the lead to 51-67, which eventually proved enough to repel Maccabi’s spirited fourth-quarter comeback.

He couldn’t exert the same influence in the final stages with Luca Vildoza taking over the offense as the game became a test of nerves from the free throw line. But Nedovic had already done his job, finishing with 28 points on 5-of-7 shooting from two-point range and setting a new club record by sinking 6-of-9 three-point attempts – Zvezda players had struck 5 three-pointers in a game on 15 previous occasions in the competition, but Nedovic is now alone with his 6 triples.

The only reason Maccabi was able to get as close as it did, 86-89, was a sensational performance from Wade Baldwin who set a new career high and club record with 38 points, along with 5 assists and 5 rebounds. Baldwin was especially on fire in the fourth quarter, scoring 15 points in the final frame to single-handedly set up a thrilling finale as his team rallied back to a single-point margin.

Indeed, Baldwin even came very close to forcing overtime in spectacular fashion as his half-court heave on the final buzzer rattled the rim before bouncing out. But he can settle for the consolation of breaking Maccabi’s single-game scoring record in the competition, finishing with 1 more point than Scottie Wilbekin last season and Sarunas Jasikevicius in 2004.

Wade Baldwin set a Maccabi record with 38 vs. Zvezda

Wade Baldwin set a Maccabi record with 38 vs Zvezda

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv v Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (2023-02-09T19:05:00.000Z)

Abrines, Jokubaitis lifted Barcelona in Bologna

Despite coming off the bench and going through several ups and downs throughout the season, Alex Abrines and Rokas Jokubaitis emerged as Barcelona’s most dangerous weapons in the 75-82 road win against Virtus Segafredo Bologna.

Neither Abrines nor Jookubaitis finished as the winners’ top scorers or contributors - that was Nikola Mirotic with 17 points and a PIR of 21, but both played key roles in Barcelona’s best moments in the game. The former scored 11 points in the 0-21 run that fueled Barcelona in the second quarter, and the latter provided 2 three-pointers and 2 free-throws in the 0-13 run that definitely put the game to bed early in the third.

"We knew it was going to be difficult, so we came out with the right energy," said Abrines. "Obviously, we made some shots, but I think our biggest thing is that we shared the ball, especially in the first three quarters, moving the ball, finding the open man and when you shoot alone, it's easier to have good percentages."

The win also had a special taste for Barcelona’s players, as it avenged the home loss against Virtus in Round 17. 

"They beat us at home and we didn’t play good, we wanted to play good and we came out with the right mentality. Every win matters in the EuroLeague right now and a road win is very important," Abrines concluded.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna v FC Barcelona (2023-02-09T19:30:00.000Z)