Rokas Jokubaitis has largely had to accept a more reduced role in FC Barcelona's offense this season, but on Thursday night at Buesa Arena, he was one of the key cogs as his team beat Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 78-85.

 

In Round 20, the winner of the 2022 EuroLeague Rising Star Award played his third-highest number of minutes with 22:55, while he also tied his season high for points with 13, which he set in Round 18 during a win at LCLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.

The best plays of Rokas Jokubaitis during FC Barcelona's 78-85 win at Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Rokas Jokubaitis's best plays vs. Baskonia

To close the first quarter on Thursday night, and with starting backcourt duo Nicolas Laprovittola and Tomas Satoransky on the bench, Jokubaitis scored 4 straight points to ensure that Barca was able to end the first 10 minutes level at 28-28.

 

Then, in the second quarter, Jokubaitis added to that by scoring 3 points, including 1 free throw, while he also grabbed 2 defensive rebounds and dished 3 assists. The Lithuanian guard proceeded to sit the majority of the third quarter before entering the final minutes, but he made his presence felt in the fourth, going 4-of-4 from the free-throw line and scoring a total of 6 points.

 

Satoransky is back available for Barca, which is good news, but Jokubaitis's 13-point night is also a welcome sight for head coach Saras Jasikevicius.

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Rokas Jokubaitis stepped up to help Barcelona beat Baskonia

Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz v FC Barcelona (2023-01-19T19:30:00.000Z)

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv added another weapon to its frontcourt on Thursday evening when it signed big man Suleiman Braimoh for the remainder of the season. Braimoh (2.03 meters, 33 years old) will help fill the void created by the hand injury to Alex Poythress. He arrives from Turkish side Tofas Bursa, where he averaged 8.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in the Turkish League and 8.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in the Basketball Champions League.

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Braimoh should adjust quickly to life at Maccabi as he has played in Israel previously as well as under Maccabi head coach Oded Kattash. He played parts of two seasons under Kattash at Hapoel Jerusalem and also played for Hapoel Eilat. Braimoh has also played professionally in the United States, Japan, Qatar, Mexico, New Zealand, Germany, Russia, France and Spain.

"He is a player who can play in several positions and will bring us toughness and experience," Kattash said. "He has an amazing character, he is a good teammate and, of course, I know him well. As we know, he is also familiar with the Israeli League and in light of all these reasons we came to the conclusion that this is the player that suits us at this stage."

Maccabi adds Braimoh to its frontcourt

Plagued by a series of injury problems, Valencia Basket has sometimes struggled to find 12 players for its roster in recent weeks. But the Spanish team has still strung together an impressive three-game winning run after downing Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 89-81 on Thursday, and to make things even better the options available to Coach Alex Mumbru are starting to grow.

A key absentee has been Chris Jones, who leads the team with averages of 14.4 points and 5.0 assists per game, but missed Rounds 12, 14, 16, 18 and 19 through a persistent knee injury. On Thursday night, though, Jones returned to lead his team from the backcourt and looked sharp as he contributed 13 points and 4 assists. Crucially, Jones was able to play more than 22 minutes – second-highest in the team – and stay strong right until the end, sealing the win with the final basket of the game as he drove past Dante Exum, scored with a foul and converted the free throw.

Another player returning to action was the dynamic Jared Harper, who had missed the previous two games through injury but is now healthy again and helped his team with 14 minutes against Partizan, providing an injection of energy whenever it was needed. 

Although Sam Van Rossom and Martin Hermannsson remain sidelined, Jones and Harper will soon be receiving more help in the backcourt: among the spectators in La Fonteta on Thursday night was Shannon Evans, who on Friday will be officially presented as a new Valencia player after joining from Real Betis. Evans has been sensational in the Spanish league this season, averaging a competition-high 21.0 points and 5.5 assists per game, and the 28-year-old should add another dimension to a Valencia attack which is already functioning very well with 81, 83 and 89 points scored in the last three games.

Jones's return and Evans's arrival strengthen Valencia’s options

Valencia Basket v Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (2023-01-19T19:45:00.000Z)

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv forced ALBA Berlin into submission thanks to excellent shooting and strong defense on Thursday night at Menorah Mivtachim Arena. The hosts were led by an inspired performance from guard Wade Baldwin, who scored 21 of his career-high 33 points in the second half to help the home team to an 87-74 victory, which kept it firmly on course to reach the playoffs.

Maccabi overpowered the visitors in shooting from two-point range, where it made 20 of 41 shots (48.8%) whereas ALBA made only 12 of 31 (38.7%). Baldwin can take the lion’s share of the credit for that too, having sank 8 of 13 shots from mid-range while he also drained 4 of 8 from beyond the arc, capping a dazzling display with 6 assists.

With starting point guard Lorenzo Brown limping off injured midway through the first quarter, Maccabi did a good job keeping the turnovers down, having given the ball away just 9 times to ALBA’s 11.

The visitors actually out-rebounded the hosts (42-41) and had more assists (19-13), but Maccabi head coach Oded Kattash pointed out that in addition to ALBA's size, the other reason the visiting team was able to take 18 offensive rebounds was that Maccabi's defense forced so many missed shots. ALBA managed to make only 11 of 35 three-point shots (31.4%), while Maccabi sank 13 of 29 from downtown (44.8%).

Maccabi outshot ALBA from all over 

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv v ALBA Berlin (2023-01-19T19:05:00.000Z)

When it was announced that Jan Vesely would be unavailable shortly before FC Barcelona's game at Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, it left the visitors without its starting center. Given that Baskonia was 8-1 at Buesa Arena and Markus Howard was making his return from injury, it was a sudden boost for the hosts.

 

But, Barca ended up setting a season high for offensive rebounds with 18 in a 78-85 win, which moved it level with Turkish Airlines EuroLeague leader Real Madrid on 13 victories. Nikola Mirotic and Oscar Da Silva grabbed 3 offensive rebounds apiece, while Sertac Sanli, Nikola Kalinic, Tomas Satoransky and Kyle Kuric had 2 each. The other player who recorded an offensive rebound was James Nnaji, who had 1.

 

Importantly for Barca, it was able to capitalize on its work on the offensive glass. From its 18 offensive rebounds, the visitors were able to score 13 second-chance points. On a night where Baskonia grabbed just 17 defensive rebounds, this proved to be the key in Barca coming away with the win.

Barcelona overcame Vesely absence to dominate on the glass

Ahead of Thursday’s meeting between direct rivals Valencia Basket and Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, one of the big questions would be which dominant big man – Bojan Dubljevic or Mathias Lessort – would exert the greater influence. In the end, the answer was more emphatic than could have been expected: the night belonged to Dubljevic.

Lessort was the first to strike, hammering home his team’s first points with a fierce putback slam and soon adding another dunk in an early statement of intent – although Dubljevic also got himself moving with 5 fast points, ensuring Partizan did not run into a big early lead. The second quarter saw Lessort get into foul trouble, minimizing his impact for the remainder of the half, while Dubljevic scored 4 more points in a 6-0 run.

But it was midway through the third period that Dubljevic really asserted himself, at exactly the time that Valencia needed it. Partizan launched a 7-0 run to make it 58-55, the closest the score had been since the first quarter before Dubljevic decided enough was enough. He ended the run from the foul line, dished an assist to James Webb, grabbed a great steal and finished it with a dunk, and finished his personal tour de force with a defensive rebound. In the space of 2 minutes do-it-all-Dubi had drawn a foul, scored, assisted, stolen the ball and rebounded…and his team’s lead was looking healthy again.

It was the same story in the final period when Partizan – by this time without Lessort after he advanced to 5 fouls – again pulled it back to a 3-point game. Dubljevic had been resting on the bench but made up for lost time when he was reintroduced by immediately grabbing an offensive board and forcing it home with a foul for a three-point play. That changed the momentum back toward Valencia, and a third consecutive win was duly secured. 

And with 20 points on 7-of-9 field goal shooting, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and a PIR of 25 in 18 minutes on the floor, the club’s all-time leading scorer Dubljevic was the main factor in the triumph.

Do-it-all Dubljevic dominated Lessort

Virtus Segafredo Bologna pulled out a 74-64 win over Panathinaikos Athens with its best defensive effort in weeks. Precisely, in two months.

Virtus had not held any opponent under 73 points since keeping EA Emporio Armani Milan and Valencia Basket to 59 points in back-to-back games in mid-November. In its last three home games, Virtus allowed at least 85 points in each.

However, on Thursday night against Panathinaikos, Virtus kept the visitors' offense in check. The hosts kept the Greens to just 11 points in the first quarter and 13 in the fourth. And nothing was more important than a 14-0 fourth-quarter run over a span of 5 and a half minutes, which turned a 55-57 deficit into a 69-57 lead with 2 minute to go, deciding the outcome of the game.

Virtus held the EuroLeague's top scorer Dwayne Bacon to just 8 points on 1-for-7 three-point shooting.

But a segment that really kept Virtus's defense at a high level throughout the night was the rebounding. Virtus not only finished the game with a 40-28 advantage on the glass, but it allowed just 6 offensive rebounds against a team that missed 36 field goals.

Virtus turned to defense to hold off the Greens

Virtus Segafredo Bologna v Panathinaikos Athens (2023-01-19T19:30:00.000Z)

 Fenerbahce ruled around the rim, again 

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul couldn't have shot much worse from the three-point or free-throw lines as it tried to stave off visiting AS Monaco on its home floor on Thursday night. 

Fenerbahce would finish making just 7 of 30 three-pointers for its lowest efficiency from the arc, 23.3%, all season. Things was just as bad at the foul line, where the hosts downed just 17 of 29 attempts, or 58.6%, for its third-worst performance of the season there. 

Fenerbahce won nevertheless, 98-94 in overtime, thanks to stellar work around the rim, hitting 30 of 43 two-pointers for 69.8% accuracy that is proving the team's calling card this season. 

Big man Johnathan Motley went 7-for-10 on Thursday to raise his league-leading average of two-pointers made to 5.8, which he converts at a rate of 63.6%. Scottie Wilbekin went inside to make 6 of 7 shots, one shy of his career high. Marko Guduric went 4-for-6 and Nick Calathes 3-for-4 when they ventured inside. At a lower rate, but still 58.3%, was Nigel Hayes-Davis, who made 7 of 12 attempts.

Johnathan Motley, Scottie Wilbekin, Marko Guduric, Nick Calathes Top 2-pointers vs. AS Monaco, 01/19/2023

Fenerbahce ruled around the rim again

No other team in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague has made as many as 30 two-pointers this season with such high efficiency, except Fenerbahce. Its 33-for-42 twos (78.6%) in a 107-77 blowout of Panathinaikos Athens in Round 8 was the best by any team so far. Fenerbahce followed that by making 30 of 40 (75.0%) in beating ALBA Berlin by 29 in Round 12. 

On Thursday, Fenerbahce's relentlessness around the rim made all the difference when compared to Monaco, which struggled to make 24 of 49 two-pointers, or 49.0%, its eighth performance below the break-even mark this season. So despite Monaco shooting somewhat better from the arc and much better at free throws, it was not enough despite both teams taking the same total shots for the night.

Fenerbahce now ranks second among all teams in two-point accuracy this season, at 57.6%, behind only Olympiacos Piraeus's 59.1%. With its third victory in a row and a chance to even return to a share of first place on Friday, it's worth wondering how potent Fenerbahce can become if its other shots start falling.

Fenerbahce ruled around the rim, again

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v AS Monaco (2023-01-19T17:45:00.000Z)

Valencia Basket strengthened its playoffs push with a commanding 89-81 victory over direct rival Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade at La Fonteta. The host improved to 10-10 after three straight wins while Partizan dropped to 9-11.

Valencia bridged the first and second quarters with a 16-3 run to lead by double-digits. Partizan improved after the break and rallied to within 3 points, but could never get closer than that as Valencia powered home. Bojan Dubljevic inspired the home team with 20 points and 6 rebounds, James Webb netted 17 points and Chris Jones scored 13 on his return from injury. Dante Exum paced Partizan with 22 points, and Kevin Punter added 14. 

Two dunks from Mathias Lessort and two triples from Punter gave Partizan the early edge, 12-13, despite 7 points for Josep Puerto. Jones scored twice to help send the host ahead, 27-18, after 10 minutes. Exum fought to narrow the gap with 7 straight points, but Dubljevic netted a pair of layups to keep Valencia in control, 47-37, at halftime.

Three-pointers from Dubljevic, Webb and Jones maintained a comfortable lead, but Exum cut the gap to 58-55 with 5 points in a 0-7 run. Dubljevic again reignited the host, and it was 69-58 after three quarters. Partizan rallied once more despite Lessort fouling out, and Punter’s triple pulled it back to 75-72, but three-point plays from Dubljevic, Webb and Jones sealed the outcome.

Rokas Jokubaitis stepped up to help Barcelona beat Baskonia

Maccabi adds Braimoh to its frontcourt

Jones's return and Evans's arrival strengthen Valencia’s options

Maccabi outshot ALBA from all over

Barcelona overcame Vesely absence to dominate on the glass

Do-it-all Dubljevic dominated Lessort

Virtus turned to defense to hold off the Greens

Fenerbahce ruled around the rim, again

Valencia powers past Partizan, 89-81