Valencia Basket came away with a 96-100 victory over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade at Stark Arena on Thursday night, tying its highest-ever score on the road in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. With this win, Valencia ends a three-game losing run and improves to 5-6, while Partizan has now not tasted victory in three fixtures and finds itself with a record of 4-7.
Valencia gets back on track with overtime win at Partizan
Xabi Lopez-Arostegui had 17 points and a team-high PIR of 23, but it was a real team effort by Valencia, who had Jasiel Rivero, James Webb and Jared Harper join Lopez-Arostegui in double figures for scoring, with 22, 18 and 14 points, respectively. Mathias Lessort had a dominant night for Partizan, finishing with a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double and a PIR of 37, while Kevin Punter had 19 points, James Nunnally chipped in with 15, Yam Madar had 13 and Zach LeDay ended the night with 12.
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It was Webb who helped Valencia get comfortable in the game, scoring the visitors' first 6 points to open a 3-6 lead. Partizan responded through Madar, who had 8 first-quarter points, but the entrance of Rivero into the game began to see Valencia cause more problems for the hosts. Come the end of the first 10 minutes, it was a tied game, 21-21. It was a back-and-forth encounter in the first half of the second quarter, but just as Valencia began to extend its advantage, making it 29-34 with just over four minutes left, Punter, Lessort and Nunnally combined to give Partizan a six-point gap at halftime, 43-37. Partizan led for the entire third quarter – the closest that Valencia got was within one point, 54-53, after a Jonah Radebaugh basket – but the visitors continued to fight, keeping the game close. Then, with 5:20 remaining in the fourth quarter, Valencia took its first lead of the half, 70-72, thanks to a three-pointer from Webb. It was Valencia who managed the lead heading into the final minutes, but some incredible baskets by Punter helped Partizan stay in the game. In fact, it was Punter who gave the lead back to the hosts with 1:10 left on the clock after hitting a midrange shot, and from that point on it became a battle between Partizan's team captain and Harper. First, Harper hit a deep three-pointer to put Valencia ahead, 80-82, with 57.2 seconds remaining. Punter then went to the free-throw line and went 2-for-3, making it 82-82. Harper followed that up with a beautiful layup past Lessort, 82-84. Partizan drew level again after Punter made both of his free throws, 84-84. Chris Jones off the bench for Valencia ahead of the final play, but his three-point effort was off target, so the game went to overtime.
Valencia got off to the better start in the extra period, going four points ahead thanks to plays from Bojan Dubljevic and Webb, but Partizan soon responded and drew level. The visitors' lead then went to five points following a three-pointer by Lopez-Arostegui and 2 made free throws by Claver, 90-95. As the game entered the last minute of play, Valencia's lead was 93-96 after Lessort had scored a floater from inside the arc. Harper reestablished Valencia's five-point buffer with a layup runner, yet Nunnally pulled Partizan to within two after hitting a triple, with 36.9 seconds remaining. It appeared as though Valencia had coughed up the chance to win with just over 10 seconds left, as Dubljevic turned the ball over, leaving Nunnally in possession. However, Lopez-Arostegui poked it away and Dubljevic landed on the ball. Punter immediately fouled Harper to send him to the line, with the first-year Valencia guard keeping his cool to drain the two free throws and give his team an impressive 96-100 win in Belgrade.