After losing in overtime just a couple of days before, Sasa Obradovic's men found a way to get the victory over the line in Round 13.
Monaco showed character and fight in a bounce-back win at Zalgiris
Article
3 Mins read
Travelling for two road games on a double-round week is arguably the toughest part of every team's schedule. The task gets even tougher when the team is emotionally affected after losing the first of those two games in overtime.
That was the case with AS Monaco on Friday, which had an overtime loss against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade on Tuesday before traveling to Kaunas to face Zalgiris, a team in a dire need of a win.
Overcoming a surge from Zalgiris
Then, Monaco took it a step further, squandering its 10-point second-quarter lead and finding itself down 59-54 late in the third quarter, with Zalgiris surging and a sellout Zalgirio Arena crowd cheering on.
"We had energy problems, especially at the beginning of the third quarter when we needed to set the tone for the game," Monaco head coach Sasa Obradovic pointed out.
However, Monaco found a way to stop the surge, making stops, scoring important buckets and escaping with a 79-83 win.
"With great character in the fourth quarter, we fought back and found the ways [to win]," Obradovic added.
Mike James and others got Monaco over the line
"It took heart. A lot of heart, a lot of hustle. We just fought tonight," Monaco's star guard, Mike James, briefly explained. James finished with 25 points and made some key buckets, together with Petr Cornelie, Alpha Diallo and Elie Okobo.
"We have a lot of veterans who've been through the wars, we relied on those guys to get us through it," Jaron Blossomgame noted after the win. He finished with 13 points, including a triple that made it 68-74 with 2 minutes to go.
A joint effort got Monaco over a tough hurdle as it improved to an 8-5 record and a share of fourth place in the standings.
"You've got to get wins on the road somewhere, and we got one tonight," James concluded.