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Round 15 roll call: Huge roles in winning performances

Round 15 roll call: Huge roles in winning performances

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24 December 20225 Mins read

Round 15 roll call: Huge roles in winning performances

Harper gave Valencia invaluable fourth-quarter boost

Jared Harper entered the fourth quarter of Valencia Basket's contest against FC Barcelona with just 4 points to his tally. Yet, the first-year guard opened the last quarter with a triple from well beyond the three-point line, then stopped a red-hot Nicolas Laprovittola with a pair of excellent defensive plays. Harper soon drove past Nikola Mirotic for a remarkable high-flying reverse layup, before adding a pair of free throws to extend Valencia's lead to 71-62 with 6:40 to go. Harper finished the game with 11 points, 5 assists and 2 steals, but his fourth-quarter contribution and those 7 points gave Valencia a much-needed cushion that Barca was unable to overcome.

Baron lit it up in a monster comeback

On Friday night, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit to beat AS Monaco 79-71 at Mediolanum Forum. In that comeback, it is hard to find a more important contributor than sharpshooter Billy Baron, who scored 16 of his game-high 23 points in the second half. Baron ignited Milan's revival when he knocked down a last-second triple – his third of the night – to end the third quarter and cut the deficit to 11 points, 51-62. His last three three-pointers came in the final 7 minutes of the game, with a couple coming from way, way beyond the arc. The 32-year-old first tied the score at 70-70 with 1:56 to go, and then the final nail was put in the coffin when he made it 75-70 with 39 seconds remaining. Baron tied his career-high, going 6-for-10 from three-point range, and orchestrated a huge comeback for Milan.

Martin's best performance

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv's first-year power forward, Jarell Martin, was hard to contain on the road at ALBA Berlin on Thursday night. It was by far his best performance in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, as Martin came off the bench to play 31 minutes and lead Maccabi with a game-high 21 points. He also had 7 rebounds, including 5 on the offensive glass. All those numbers were personal bests for Martin in a big come-from-behind 70-83 win over ALBA, the team's second road win of the season.

Nebo anchored Maccabi's paint

Center Josh Nebo was a quiet late-game hero for Maccabi in a road win at ALBA in Round 15. When Nebo entered the game early in the fourth quarter, ALBA was up 65-63. When he made his exit, Maccabi was in front 65-81. During that 0-18 run, and in a seven-and-a-half-minute span, Nebo did not score a single point, but he did grab 6 defensive rebounds and block 1 shot as Maccabi outrebounded the hosts 15-9 in the final quarter. Nebo finished the night with a career-high 13 rebounds, including 10 on the defensive end.

Marinkovic caught fire for Baskonia in Round 15

Vanja Marinkovic wasn't named as one of the starters for Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz against Virtus Segafredo Bologna on Thursday night, but when his number was called, he made sure to step up. The 25-year-old entered the game just a couple of minutes into the contest after Markus Howard began to feel some pain in his lower back, and he then went on to tie his career-high with 22 points in 22 minutes and 44 seconds on the floor. Marinkovic was particularly impressive from deep, finishing 5-of-8 from three-point range, as Baskonia came away with a 90-79 victory.

Avramovic has EuroLeague dream debut

Aleksa Avramovic had battled a hand injury until now, but he finally made his long-awaited Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut in Round 15. The Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade guard played a key role in his team's 72-73 win at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, scoring the game's last 3 points to become the hero. Avramovic needed less than 9 minutes to get 6 points, 3 rebounds, 5 rebounds and a PIR of 8. His aggressiveness and cold bloodedness in crunch time allowed Partizan to challenge for the win and eventually grab it.

Poirier makes the most of extra playing time

Real Madrid center Vincent Poirier had the chance to see more playing time than usual in Los Blancos' 92-73 home win against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne on Thursday night. He played a season-high 28 minutes and scored 14 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, which helped Real wrap up the victory. Those 19 points tie his best scoring record this season after he put up the same number against ALBA Berlin in Round 8. Poirier's 9 made two-point shots are his second-best mark in the competition. He had his second-highest numbers this season for rebounds (6) and PIR (28), too.