EuroLeague Live Blog: Round 23, Friday

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Live Blog: Real, Olympiacos end Round 23 top of the pile

AS Monaco v Real Madrid (2023-02-03T18:00:00.000Z)

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v ALBA Berlin (2023-02-03T17:45:00.000Z)

Zalgiris Kaunas v Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (2023-02-03T18:00:00.000Z)

Olympiacos Piraeus v Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2023-02-03T19:00:00.000Z)

Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz v Panathinaikos Athens (2023-02-03T19:30:00.000Z)

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne v Virtus Segafredo Bologna (2023-02-03T20:00:00.000Z)

Virtus Segafredo Bologna rounded out a fantastic double-round week by topping LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 64-77 in Round 23. Playing physical and taking advantage of its athleticism was critical in Virtus making it two wins from two this week. 

Virtus outrebounded ASVEL 27-32, pulling down 11 offensive rebounds and allowing ASVEL to get just 9. Virtus grabbed 70% of all rebounds under its rim, doing better than ASVEL (62.1%). Virtus was more active in the passing lanes, too, getting as many as 9 steals, almost twice as many as its opponent (5). Isaia Cordinier finished the game with 3 steals, while Kyle Weems and Daniel Hackett collected 2 apiece.

As always, Virtus turned hustle and good defense into offense, and it ended up shooting the ball better than ASVEL from all distances. Virtus sank 18-of-31 two-pointers (58.1% 2FG), 9-of-26 three-pointers (34.6% 3FG) and 14-of-16 free throws (87.5% FT). ASVEL couldn't catch up with those numbers (51.5% 2FG, 27.3% 3FG, 80% FT), paying a high price for not matching Virtus's physicality.

Game Videos

Game News

Virtus's hustle paid off at ASVEL

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul topped ALBA Berlin 101-86 at home on Friday evening. Lately, Fenerbahce had struggled to score early in its games, but it fixed its problems in Round 23.

Fenerbahce led 31-27 at the end of the first quarter, by far its best scoring performance in a while. Coach Dimitris Itoudis's team was coming off consecutive losses in which the team had struggled early, trailing 25-12 after 10 minutes in Round 21 against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and being down 10-24 against Olympiacos at the end of the first quarter in Round 22. The last time it got a 4-point lead or higher after 10 minutes was against ALBA in Round 12.

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul scored 31 points in the opening 10 minutes of its Round 23 game against ALBA Berlin.

Fenerbahce's high-scoring first quarter

Its first-quarter scoring record this season was 26 points in Round 5 against Anadolu Efes Istanbul. Johnathan Motley had 11 of his team's 31 first-quarter points against ALBA. Fenerbahce continued playing with a lot of rhythm, as its 57 first-half points are the club's best mark since scoring 62 it recorded against Darussafaka Istanbul in 2016. It got 81 points after three quarters, its highest score in the opening 30 minutes since the 2020-21 season.

All that led to a comfortable lead, and Motley talked about it after the game. "We just wanted to focus on starting better that we have been. Lately, we have been losing games based on bad starts, and our second and third quarters are pretty good," Motley explained after the game. "So we just really wanted to start good today, and I think we did a good job at that."

Fenerbahce caught fire early against ALBA

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul defeated ALBA Berlin 101-86 at Ulker Sports and Event Hall in Round 23. Being able to play at a higher rhythm than its opponent made the difference in this game.

Fenerbahce was more aggressive in this game, attacking the rim more often. The hosts drew 23 fouls and went to the free-throw line more often, hitting 20-of-24 attempts (83.3% FT). On the other hand, ALBA drew just 17 fouls and struggled from the charity stripe, burying just 8-of-13 attempts (61.5%).

The hosts also managed to stop ALBA's ball circulation after the break. ALBA recorded as many as 19 assists before halftime and was on course to set a new all-time Turkish Airlines EuroLeague record; Real Madrid holds it with 36 assists against Strasbourg on December 17, 2015. Fenerbahce, however, only allowed ALBA to dish 8 assists in the second half. ALBA finished the game with twice as many turnovers, 16, as Fenerbahce, 8, in another important key to this game.

Fenerbahce stopped ALBA's fluency

Virtus Segafredo Bologna downed LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 64-77 at the Astroballe in Round 23. Virtus was without Milos Teodosic, but Marco Belinelli stepped up to remind everyone why he is a legendary scorer.

Belinelli came off the bench and immediately missed his first shot, allowing Youssoupha Fall to score at the other end for a 14-13 ASVEL lead. However, that proved to be the hosts' last lead in the game, as Belinelli took over right after that. He had 4 points in a 0-10 run, capping it with a jumper. Belinelli soon added 3 shots from downtown and a jumper to make it a double-digit game, 27-37.

Marco Belinelli had a season-high 21 points to lead Virtus Segafredo Bologna past LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.

Belinelli stands out against ASVEL

He remained a steady threat throughout the game, forcing ASVEL to change its defensive strategy. Belinelli led all scorers with a season-high 21 points, hitting 4-of-6 two-pointers and 4-of-8 shots from beyond the arc. "It is a very big win for us. We played well from the beginning until the end, together. Everybody was aggressive. We prepared the game in a good way. We knew that, for us, it was an important game to win, and we did that," Belinelli said after the game. "It is not easy to play on the road but we did. We bring the win to Bologna and just need to keep going and stay positive, for sure." 

Marco Belinelli turned back the clock at the Astroballe

Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz lost three quarters out of four in its 95-90 home win over Panathinaikos Athens, but coming out on top 31-15 in the second period was enough for the Spanish side to secure an all-important victory which kept it on course to reach the playoffs.

The hosts fired on all cylinders for 20 minutes or so after falling behind 21-10 early on, but then they took their foot off the gas when they were 60-40 up early in the third, allowing Panathinaikos to slash the deficit. However, the visitors never looked likely to force a late twist.

Exceptional shooting in the first half from inside the arc was the key to Baskonia’s win, having finished on 26 of 39 from two-point range to compensate for a relatively poor night from downtown, as they nailed a modest 9 of 31 three-point shots.

The Greens only hit 6-of-21 three-pointers and also struggled from the foul line (16 of 23), where Baskonia excelled (16 of 18). Just as crucially, Baskonia dished out 26 assists (16 in the first half) to Panathinaikos's 18, having also grabbed 6 boards more (39-33) and 11 of those rebounds were on the offensive end.

However, Baskonia head coach Joan Penarroya was quick to point out that it wasn’t all good: “We relaxed after going up by 20 points in the second half. We could have won by more points, in the second half we conceded 52 and we need to improve in defense.”

Matt Costello also had no excuses for a lapse that could have cost Baskonia had the visitors not ran out of time.

If we don’t play hard we are going to lose these games so we’ve got to figure it out,” he said. "We were up by 20 and then we decided to take our foot off the gas. Every team here can score.”

The selfless nature of Baskonia’s offense was perhaps best personified by shooting guard Darius Thompson, who dished out 10 assists before he scored his only 3 points of the game, netting his solitary shot from the floor and 1-of-2 free throws.

That allowed Markus Howard to finish on a game-high 24 points, however he struggled from the floor, going 2 of 11 from three-point range. He did sink 6 of 7 from inside the arc, though.

“I am glad we got the win against a good team but we can play a lot better,” Howard said after the game. “We had a big lead and then we let it up a little bit, so there are definitely things we can get better at and adjust.”

Baskonia was in top gear when it mattered

Monaco and Real Madrid are used to playing out memorable games against one another, and Friday evening's meeting between the two is another that went down to the wire. Real prevailed 91-95, getting some payback against Monaco after losing in overtime back in overtime in Round 12.

On this night, however, Real overcame everything that was put in front of it. In particular, the foul trouble of its two towers, Walter Tavares and Vincent Poirier, and a dreadful opening five minutes of the third quarter, during which Monaco put together a 12-1 run.

Real committed 10 of its 18 turnovers in that third quarter alone, but it managed to come back after hitting some big shots from long range. *Los Blancos* knocked down 14 triples, the most in a road game this season, on 31 attempts, which is also the most the team has shot away from Madrid this season.

Mario Hezonja was on fire from deep, going 6-for-10 from downtown, while Sergio Llull was 3-of-7, with two coming late in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Adam Hanga came up big with a pair of threes, too.

On the other hand, Monaco had half as many turnovers, 9, but shot just 4-for-18 from three-point land.

Threes got Real Madrid out of trouble in Monaco

The relatively narrow 6-point winning margin might suggest Friday’s showdown between Olympiacos Piraeus and Anadolu Efes Istanbul was a pretty close game, but in reality the Greek team was vastly superior in nearly aspect of the contest and should have won by a much bigger margin than the final 76-70 scoreline.

Olympiacos had significantly better field goal shooting percentages, making 20-of-31 (64.5%) two-pointers and 9-of-27 (33.3%) three-point attempts compared to 21-of-38 (55.3%) from two and 5-of-21 (23.8%) from three for the visiting team.

The Reds also dished more assists (24 vs. 18) and dominated the rebounding battle with 36 boards against Efes's 28. That extra physicality was also reflected in the fact that Olympiacos blocked 4 shots, with the Turkish team recording 2.

So, why was the game so close? Mainly because of a big disparity in free-throw shooting: Olympiacos converted only 9 of its 17 trips to the foul line, with veteran leader Kostas Papanikolaou slightly spoiling an otherwise inspirational performance by only making 1 of 4. Efes, on the other hand, converted 13 of its 15 free-throw shots to give itself a chance of making an unlikely comeback.

But if Olympiacos had come close to its usual 78% accuracy from the line, the final margin would have been in double digits – and that would have more accurately reflected the host’s dominance.

Olympiacos dominated Efes despite narrow final margin

### Sergio Scariolo, Virtus Segafredo Bologna head coach

"The second half was closer to the first quarter than the second, and we had the control of the game throughout most parts of it. Congratulations to my players, we needed a road win. This team is a good team. A couple of weeks ago, they beat teams like Fenerbahce and Milan on the road. I am very happy with the win, but we are in the race \[for the playoffs\]. The competition is tough, the race for the playoffs is extremely close and tough, but we are there. We want to make our steps one after another and see where we are in a few weeks. For example, \[our\] next game is against Barcelona, a super powerhouse, but let's see. Step by step."

### TJ Parker, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne head coach 

"I think they impacted us a lot defensively, and we didn't find a solution offensively. After that, defensively, we did a pretty good job, but after that, we had to find a way to score."

### Marco Belinelli, Virtus Segafredo Bologna forward 

"It is a very big win for us. We played well, I think, from the beginning until the end, together. Everybody was aggressive. We prepared the game in a good way. We knew that, for us, it was an important game to win, and we did that. It is important for us to keep going like that. Now, we are going to play an Italian \[League\] game against Brescia, then we are going to play against Barcelona. We still believe, and want to believe until the end, so we are going to try to do our best. It is not easy to play on the road but we did. We bring the win to Bologna and just need to keep going and stay positive, for sure."

### Daniel Hackett, Virtus Segafredo Bologna guard 

"This, for us, was a must-win game to keep fighting for a playoffs spot. This year, EuroLeague is kind of crazy. A lot of teams grouped up in a few wins or losses, so every game is crucial. We came here with the mindset of giving it all on the defensive end. I thought we did a good job, holding them under 70 points. Overall, we shared the ball and tried to get good shots. Our young guys did an amazing job, Pajola, Mannion... Belinelli was amazing, so we are happy to get the win. As I said, we came here with a mindset that this was a must-win game, a final for us. We prepared even when we had a few days only to prepare for the game in this double week. But we are locked in, focused, and we want to give it a try to reach the Top 8."

Sergio Scariolo, Virtus: 'We are in the race'

Virtus Segafredo Bologna completed a perfect double-round week in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season by topping LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 64-77 at the Astroballe on Friday night. Virtus improved to 11-12 in the standings and grabbed its first EuroLeague road win since early January, while ASVEL dropped to 8-15 after losing its two games this week.

Marco Belinelli paced the winners with 21 points off the bench. Toko Shengelia added 10, and five other Virtus players scored between 5 and 7 points in this game. Nando De Colo led ASVEL with 15 points and 6 assists. Youssoupha Fall added 11 points, and Amine Noua had 10 for the hosts.

Shengelia and Daniel Hackett fueled a 2-9 Virtus run that Kyle Weems capped with a bomb from downtown. Dee Bost and De Colo each buried a three-pointer in a 10-0 ASVEL run that gave the hosts their first lead, 12-9. Virtus increased its physicality and found a go-to guy in Belinelli, who scored 5 points in a 0-12 run that boosted the guests' lead to 14-23 early in the second quarter. Belinelli buried two more shots from beyond the arc and also made a jumper to keep Virtus fully in charge, 26-35. David Lighty and Charles Kahudi brought ASVEL within 37-39 at halftime.

ASVEL tied the game, 44-44, on a wild buzzer-beating three-pointer by Kahudi. Isaia Cordinier stepped up for Virtus with 5 quick points, getting help from Bako and Hackett to regain a 48-55 lead after 30 minutes. Belinelli struck again from beyond the arc, then Alessandro Pajola followed a fall-away jumper with a catch-and-shoot corner triple that broke the game open, 48-63, with eight minutes remaining. Noua and Fall tried to change things for ASVEL, but Belinelli stayed unstoppable, allowing Virtus to seal the outcome long before the final buzzer.

Marco Belinelli leads Virtus past ASVEL, 64-77

Cazoo Backonia Vitoria-Gasteiz returned to winning ways on Friday night with a 95-90 victory against Panathinaikos Athens at Buesa Arena, which improves the hosts' Turkish Airlines EuroLeague record to 13-10 in what is shaping up to be a ferocious battle to reach the playoffs. With this defeat, the visitors dropped to 8-15 and have only a forlorn hope of squeezing into the Top 8.

Usual suspect Markus Howard paced the hosts with 24 points, although he shot only 2-of-11 from three-point range. His support cast delivered, however, as Matt Costello chipped in with 16 points, Vanja Marinkovic scored 14 and Maik Kotsar added 10. Derrick Williams led Panathinaikos with 19 points, while Paris Lee, Georgios Papagiannis and Dwayne Bacon racked up 16 each.

Panathinaikos looked capable of grabbing a rare road win after racing into a 21-10 lead in the first quarter, with Bacon hitting shots from all angles. However, that was as good as it got for the visitors, as Baskonia replied with a 23-5 run which turned the match on its head. From there, the home side never looked back.

Howard ignited the comeback and his teammates duly followed, having upped the pace to a speed that Panathinaikos struggled to cope with. The lead soared to 52-38 at halftime, with Howard on 14 points while Costello had 8 and Rokas Giedraitis 7, courtesy of a quick transition of the ball producing plenty of team assists.

Panathinaikos looked out for the count when Baskonia romped into a 60-40 lead early in the third quarter, but the visitors replied with a 10-0 run which rekindled their hopes of staging an unlikely comeback.

Baskonia then rediscovered its offensive momentum and, although it wasn’t a comfortable end to the game for the hosts, they did enough to hold on. The Spanish team's advantage ebbed and flowed as it got back into double figures, only for Panathinaikos to reduce it to single digits several times, forcing Baskonia to dig deep in the closing stages. But, in the end, Baskonia did enough to see its victory over the line.

Baskonia rallies past Panathinaikos, 95-90

[Will Clyburn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/will-clyburn/004888/) starred for Anadolu Efes Istanbul in an 80-70 victory over Zalgiris Kaunas on Wednesday night, which has seen him earn MVP of the Round honors for the fourth time in his career. Clyburn tallied 19 points, making 5-of-9 two-pointers, 2-of-4 three-pointers and all 3 of his free throws, along with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steals and 5 drawn fouls. He not only led all players this round in performance index rating with 27, but he was also involved in some key plays during the final minute as he helped seal Efes's win.

Will Clyburn starred for Anadolu Efes Istanbul in an 80-70 victory over Zalgiris Kaunas on Wednesday night, which has seen him earn MVP of the Round honors for the fourth time in his career.

Will Clyburn | Round 22 MVP | 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

[Cassius Winston](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/cassius-winston/011940/) of FC Bayern Munich had the next highest PIR, 26, in a loss against Valencia Basket. Winston amassed 22 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. AS Monaco center [Donatas Motiejunas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/donatas-motiejunas/lcz/) had a PIR of 25 in his team's win over ALBA Berlin. Motiejunas posted 22 points, making 11-of-12 shots from the field, along with 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Rounding out top five performers in Round 13 are [Kevin Punter](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/kevin-punter/009862/) of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and [Rokas Giedraitis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/rokas-giedraitis/006436/) of Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, each of whom had a 24 PIR. Punter paired 22 points with 4 rebounds and 2 assists in a win over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, while Giedraitis posted 18 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in a loss against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan.

Round 22 MVP: Will Clyburn, Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Zalgiris Kaunas (2023-02-01T17:30:00.000Z)

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