The French side produced its best performance at the halfway mark of the regular season.
Monaco outgunned Barcelona to finish 2023 on a high note
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Regular Season
Round 17 of 34
Regular Season
AS MonacoASM
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FC BarcelonaBAR
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There will be loud New Year’s Eve celebrations in the principality after AS Monaco blew away FC Barcelona 91-71 in the final Round 17 game of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague campaign, which drew to a close the first half of the regular season.
Monaco saved the best for last in 2023, having served up a rip-roaring performance to notch its first home win over Barcelona at the fifth attempt thanks to a seamless team effort which saw Mike James and Alpha Diallo stand out.
The threeball was one of the game’s key factors
James netted a game-high 20 points and Diallo added 19 on 4-of-6 shooting from downtown, where Monaco excelled while Barcelona faltered.
The home team sank 15-of-30 shots from beyond the three-point arc while Barcelona only made 8-of-27, courtesy of Monaco’s quick transition of the ball which created a barrage of open looks.
Light on their feet, the hosts overran Barca throughout the lop-sided contest, as the visitors looked trampled by Monaco’s pace and intensity which saw them chasing shadows all evening.
“We just wanted to bring out our aggressiveness and protect our home court because we’ve lost too many home games already,” James said in a flash post-game interview as he walked off the court. “It’s good to get a win at the halfway mark and help yourself reload heading into the second half of the regular season. To get a win against Barca at any stage is great.”
James gave the home fans a scare late in the third quarter as he had to receive some treatment in the locker room after taking a knock on the head, but he sprung back into action quickly to devastating effect.
“Just had to go stitch it over quickly and we’re good,” Monaco’s No. 55 confirmed.
Winning as a team in front of its ‘sixth man’
Monaco head coach Sasa Obradovic was pleased with his team’s effort. “I am happy with the win and with the way we won. I am looking forward to the next games and challenges,” commented the Serbian tactician, who is known for always demanding more from his players.
“Everybody performed and contributed in different ways. We found a way to score through individual quality and we are now headed for a very important period, with lots of challenges ahead,” he added.
Diallo heaped praise on the passionate home fans afterward: “We had an amazing crowd tonight. They are our sixth man and we appreciate them for that. We let our defense dictate our offense tonight and we’ve got to keep that going.”
Barca head coach Roger Grimau, meanwhile, conceded his team was second best throughout. “We played a very bad game, they made crazy threes and scored on too many one-on-one situations,” he lamented.