Olympiacos B.C. center Moustapha Fall had an incredible 8 blocks against LDLC ASVEL, as well as 7 assists and 7 rebounds, in Round 16 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.

Moustapha Fall had a never-seen-before performance in Round 16

"Moustapha Fall had a dominant game. I consider that he helped us a lot to win the game." 

Those were the words of Olympiacos Piraeus head coach Georgios Bartzokas after [his team beat LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 73-85](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/euroleague-live-blog-ldlc-asvel-vs-olympiacos-bc/) on Friday night.

### A historic night for Moustapha Fall

But not only was Moustapha Fall dominant, he produced a stat line no player has ever had before, while also blocking more shots than any other player in almost 23 years.

Fall scored just 2 points in the contest, making 1 of his 2 two-point attempts, but he collected 8 blocks, 7 assists and 7 rebounds.

"I just tried my best to help the team as much as possible," Fall said after the victory, in which he did something no player has done since the inaugural EuroLeague season.

It took nearly 23 years for a player to deliver 8 blocked shots, which Moustapha Fall did on Friday night.

Fall with first-ever 8 blocks 7 assists game

Fall's 8 blocks are now second all-time, only behind the record of 10 which was [set by Stojko Vrankovic ](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/stats/db/E2000/129/#boxscore)in February 2001 while playing for PAF Bologna. The only other player who had 8 blocks in a EuroLeague game was [Grygorii Khizhniak](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/stats/db/E2000/74/#boxscore) in a Zalgiris Kaunas jersey in November 2000.

Fall's first 2 blocks came late in the second quarter, and he delivered the other 6 blocked shots after halftime.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bwinMVP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bwinMVP</a>, Moustapha Fall! 🥇🚀<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OlympiacosBC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OlympiacosBC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://t.co/S5hmVGSUAa">pic.twitter.com/S5hmVGSUAa</a></p>&mdash; OLYMPIACOS BC (@Olympiacos_BC) <a href="https://twitter.com/Olympiacos_BC/status/1738305328481964263?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### He dipped into his playmaking skills, too

In addition to dominating under his own rim, Fall also sparked Olympiacos's offense,  not by scoring but rather dishing a team-high and personal-best tying 7 assists.

In doing that, Fall became the first-ever player who had more than 5 blocks and more than 3 assists in the same game. Fall shattered that mark in a big win for Olympiacos, which got the team back to an even 8-8 record.

"Very important win for us to get back on track," Fall added. "We are in a tough period, we have a lot of people coming back from injury, so everybody needs to step up."

And step up he did. Perhaps it will prove to be a catalyst for a spike in Olympiacos's results, too.

More Olympiacos News

Moustapha Fall of Olympiacos Piraeus overpowers Paris Lee of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in Round 16 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

It took nearly 23 years for a player to deliver 8 blocked shots, which the Olympiacos big man did on Friday night.

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne v Olympiacos Piraeus (2023-12-22T18:45:00.000Z)

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade maestro Milos Teodosic had one of the best performances of his long career, leading his team to a crucial 92-98 win over Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. In the process, he earned MVP of the Round honors for Round 16 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

Round 16 MVP: Milos Teodosic, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade

Teodosic accumulated a club-record 40 PIR, which is the second-best mark in the EuroLeague this season and also the second-highest total of his 279-game career. [Teodosic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/milos-teodosic/jdr/) netted 27 points, making 2-of-3 twos, 6-of-9 threes and all 5 free throws, while his career-best tying 14 assists were a EuroLeague high for this season. Teodosic also had 2 rebounds and 2 steals en route to the sixth MVP of the Round honor of his career and the first since November 2016.

The next best PIR, 30, belongs to Maccabi guard [Wade Baldwin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/wade-baldwin-iv/009863/), who had 22 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 10 drawn fouls. [Mike James](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/mike-james/005985/) of AS Monaco finished with a PIR of 29 in an 80-91 win at FC Bayern Munich, scoring 28 points, dishing 3 assists and grabbing 2 rebounds. [Dzanan Musa](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/dzanan-musa/006540/) of EuroLeague leader Real Madrid had a PIR of 27 in a 91-75 win over Partizan Mozzartbet Belgrade, with 23 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Maccabi's [Josh Nebo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/josh-nebo/011199/) had the next best PIR, 26, having collected 18 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals. Rounding out the list of top performers are three other players with a 26 PIR: Bayern's [Sylvain Francisco](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/sylvain-francisco/007975/), Monaco's [Elie Okobo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/elie-okobo/011212/) and Baskonia-Vitoria Gasteiz’s [Codi Miller-McIntyre](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/codi-miller-mcintyre/009048/).

Milos Teodosic | RS Round 16 MVP | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

### Inidividual highs: Moustapha Fall, Olympiacos Piraeus, 8 blocks

 

Monaco’s Mike James and Baskonia's Markus Howard each had this round's high 28 points. James is also the competition's top scorer at 19.8 points per game.

 

Two Baskonia players, Codi Miller-McIntyre and Chima Moneke, had 9 rebounds apiece, the most this round. Fellow Baskonia player Tadas Sedekerskis leads the overall standings with 8.2 boards per night.

 

Milos Teodosic of Crvena Zvezda had 14 assists, which was not only more than any other player in Round 16 but also tied a EuroLeague season high. Facundo Campazzo of Real ranks first in assists at 7.2 per game.

 

Virtus Segafredo Bologna star Toko Shengelia led all players this round with 4 steals. Paris Lee of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne leads the steals table at 2.1 per game.

 

Moustapha Fall of Olympiacos Piraeus had 8 blocks, tied for the second-most rejections all-time in competition history. Real big man Vincent Poirier is the competition's top shot blocker at 1.5 per game.

 

There were two double-doubles this round: Teodosic (27 points, 14 assists) and Miller-McIntyre (14 points, 13 assists).

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv v Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (2023-12-21T19:05:00.000Z)

Weekly prizes are on offer for the top team manager in the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge, so don't miss out!

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge Round 16 winner

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, we have our 16th winner in the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge! ILIAS T beat everyone else in Round 16 with his team Zeliko1, which had a Fantasy Challenge score of 238.80.

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ILIAS had the following lineup: team captain Milos Teodosic of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, his teammate Joel Bolomboy, Mike James of AS Monaco, Mario Hezonja of Real Madrid, and Alec Peters of Olympiacos Piraeus as starters.

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His sixth man was Shane Larkin of Anadolu Efes Istanbul, while the rest of the bench was made up of Johannes Thiemann and Tim Schneider of ALBA Berlin, Dovydas Giedraitis of Zalgiris Kaunas and Ercan Osmani of Efes. His head coach was Georgios Bartzokas of Olympiacos.

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The prize for finishing first in Round 16 is a free subscription to Euroleague TV for the 2024-25 season, so congratulations, Kyriakos!

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Giorgisss Anton is the new leader of the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge overall standings with 2,874.70 points.

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Trades are now open for Round 17. Remember, it's back to three trades per round until the end of Round 19!

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The first game in Round 17, Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, tips off on Thursday, December 28, at 18:30 CET. This contest marks the deadline to get trades done, so don’t leave it too late!

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Make new teams now or improve your existing ones and try to become our next round winner in the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge!

Kendrick Nunn rose to the occasion as Panathinaikos B.C. defeated Olimpia Milano 68-76 in Round 16 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.

Kendrick Nunn came to the fore at Mediolanum Forum in crunch time 

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan and Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens fought hard for 40 minutes in Round 16. When the dust settled, [Panathinaikos had cruised to a 68-76 road win](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/euroleague-live-blog-olimpia-milano-vs-panathinaikos-bc/) despite losing star center Mathias Lessort, who could not finish the game due to an injury. 

The Greens led 65-67 with less than 4 minutes remaining when Lessort tried to score against Nicolo Melli. It was not a very hard foul, but the Frenchman had a bad fall and could not leave the court on his own.

### Enter: Kendrick Nunn

Head coach Ergin Ataman decided to bring Kendrick Nunn back into the game to take the free throws. It was a logical choice as Nunn had to miss in his short EuroLeague career, burying all 21 free-throw attempts until then.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Postgame victory vibes with you <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAOfans?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAOfans</a> 💚<a href="https://twitter.com/OlimpiaMI1936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OlimpiaMI1936</a> - <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/paobcaktor?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#paobcaktor</a> 68-76<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheGreens?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheGreens</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/paobc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#paobc</a> <a href="https://t.co/afdWrJ7Wda">pic.twitter.com/afdWrJ7Wda</a></p>&mdash; Panathinaikos BC (@paobcgr) <a href="https://twitter.com/paobcgr/status/1738317485340815597?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Nunn made both shots from the charity stripe and made sure his team would return to Athens with a big victory. After a defensive stop, Nunn buried a stop-and-pop jumper just inside the free-throw line to make it a 6-point game.

Shavon Shields then nailed a jumper off a timeout to bring Milan within striking distance, 68-71. Shields could not score on his team's next possession and Nunn delivered again, taking big man Johannes Voigtmann one-on-one before sinking a dagger three-pointer which sealed the outcome, as playmaker Kostas Sloukas admitted after the game.

Kendrick Nunn had 7 of his 17 points in crunch time to lead Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens past EA7 Emporio Armani Milan.

Nunn leads Panathinaikos past Milan

"I think our defense in the crucial moments was there," said Sloukas. "Kendrick \[Nunn\] finished the game with a big three, but generally I think we controlled all of rhythm of the game."

### Putting his fingerprints on the closing stages

Nunn scored 7 of his team-high 17 points in the final 4 minutes, allowing the Greens to record its third consecutive victory, all of which have come on the road.

"I am just giving whatever my team needs at the moment," noted Nunn. "We played a hard game, Milan played a tough game and took us down to the wire. Mathias \[Lessort\] went out and that's when I came in the fourth quarter, and I had to seal the game a little bit

"We are getting better every day. The chemistry is now gelling and now we head back home to continue our winning streak."

More Panathinaikos News

Kendrick Nunn of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens shoots a jumper against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in Round 16 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

The Panathinaikos guard took another big step forward in his brief, but very impressive, EuroLeague career.

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan v Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (2023-12-22T19:45:00.000Z)

AS Monaco Basket star Mike James once again shined on the road against FC Bayern Basketball, a team he has a history of performing well against in the EuroLeague.

Same old story as Mike James subdued FC Bayern Basketball again

AS Monaco put an end to a two-game skid with an 80-91 road win at FC Bayern Munich on Friday night thanks to yet another impressive performance by Mike James, who continued to torment the German team after scoring a game-high 28 points.

In Monaco’s previous two wins at Bayern, James scored 26 points when the French side prevailed 78-83 in the 2021-22 season and then netted 28 in an 81-84 victory last term, tying his career-best mark of 6 three-pointers made.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">✅️ La <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RocaTeam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RocaTeam</a> repart de l&#39;avant en <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a>, et avec la manière 🆚️ <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBBasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FCBBasketball</a> ! 🚀<br><br>🔜 Rendez-vous le 2️⃣9️⃣ décembre à Gaston-Médecin, pour un grand choc face au Barça 🌟<br>🎟 <a href="https://t.co/XonYhHkKSL">https://t.co/XonYhHkKSL</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RocaTeam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RocaTeam</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EveryGameMatters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EveryGameMatters</a> <a href="https://t.co/LzYDZCgcFr">pic.twitter.com/LzYDZCgcFr</a></p>&mdash; AS Monaco Basket 🇲🇨 (@ASMonaco_Basket) <a href="https://twitter.com/ASMonaco_Basket/status/1738312679905743327?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Mike James made sure Monaco got the win

This time around, James poured 22 points in the second half to fend off a spirited Bayern fightback after the visitors had carved out a 31-46 first-half lead, largely thanks to an Elie Okobo blitz. Okobo scored 12 points in less than 9 first-half minutes on the court and James took over after the interval.

The 33-year-old point guard shot 9-of-14 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the foul line, toying with his markers time and again by either driving to the basket or effortlessly sinking tough perimeter shots.

Mike James had 28 points as AS Monaco defeated FC Bayern Munich 80-91 in Round 16 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

Mike James's best scoring plays vs. Bayern

Hard-working Okobo also fired on all cylinders in crunch time, finishing the game on 19 points and 5 assists.

### Monaco responded in the perfect way

The result vanquished the ghosts of Monaco’s tough 90-91 home loss at the hands of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens on Tuesday, when the Greek side snatched victory from Monaco’s grasp with a last-gasp three-pointer.

“We headed into the game focused, and it’s a very important win after the home loss to Panathinaikos,” Monaco head coach Sasa Obradovic said in a flash post-game interview. “We did a good job defensively most of the game.”

Okobo added: “Bayern had a good run in the fourth quarter, but we were able to stay locked in. The loss two days ago felt awful and to win here on the road against a very good team shows character.”

FC Bayern Munich-AS Monaco | Round 16 Highlights | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

James, for his part, acknowledged the torrid schedule has played a part in Monaco’s patchy form recently, as well as in the dip late in the third quarter and early in the fourth against Bayern, when the hosts slashed their deficit to just 6 points.

“Double weeks are always tough with all the travelling, so we’re happy we got one on the road,” commented James. “We had a little relapse in the third quarter, but we fought through. It’s been a long week, we’re happy to get the win and we’re ready to go home.”

Bayern boss Pablo Laso conceded his team had left itself a mountain to climb in the second half. “We gave ourselves too much to do when we fell 15 points behind in the first half and although we found some momentum in the second, Monaco made all the crunch shots when they needed to. Of course, James is difficult to stop because he is a very good player. We have to recover from a tough week and learn from this defeat.”

More Monaco News

Mike James of AS Monaco shoots a jumper against FC Bayern Munich in Round 16 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

The American playmaker replicated his past two performances in Munich to steer Monaco past the German side.

Same old story as Mike James subdued Bayern again

FC Bayern Munich v AS Monaco (2023-12-22T19:30:00.000Z)

The Fenerbahçe Beko backcourt duo of Nick Calathes and Scottie Wilbekin have played important roles in Saras Jasikevicius starting his tenure a perfect 3-0 in the EuroLeague.

Nick Calathes, Scottie Wilbekin keep shining as starters for new-look Fenerbahçe Beko

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul has started the Saras Jasikevicius era with three straight victories in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. In particular, one of the main reasons for that has been veteran stars Nick Calathes and Scottie Wilbekin starting those three games together.

Wilbekin poured in 20 points with 5 three-pointers while Nick Calathes scored 4 points and dished a season-high 13 assists in [Fenerbahce’s 82-91 at ALBA Berlin in Round 16](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/euroleague-live-blog-alba-berlin-vs-fenerbahce-beko/). Thanks to this result, the Turkish side moved to 9-7 overall and 3-0 since Jasikevicius’s arrival.

Against a young and energetic ALBA team, the leadership of Wilbekin and Calathes proved to be crucial as Fenerbahce notched just its second road win of the season.

“\[Facing\] ALBA is always difficult and they played exactly the basketball that we expected,” Jasikevicius stated after the game. “They succeeded against us in many ways. They forced many turnovers, they got us out of the system a little bit. But every time, we were solid in playing our game, we were making runs. We were very good.”

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr">Berlin&#39;de maç bizim! <br><br>Tebrikler Fenerbahçe Beko! 👏<br><br>Maç Sonucu | <a href="https://twitter.com/albaberlin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@albaberlin</a> 🆚 Fenerbahçe Beko: 82-91<br><br>Skor dağılımımız: Wilbekin 20, Papagiannis 15, Motley 14, Dorsey 12, Hayes-Davis 7, Sestina 5, Sertaç 4, Madar 4, Pierre 4, Calathes 4, Guduric 2. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YellowLegacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YellowLegacy</a> <a href="https://t.co/l8dcCBymrG">pic.twitter.com/l8dcCBymrG</a></p>&mdash; Fenerbahçe Beko (@FBBasketbol) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBBasketbol/status/1738304731590578281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

One of the first things the Lithuanian play-caller did when he replaced Dimitiris Itoudis as Fenerbahce boss was install the 30-year-old Wilbekin and 34-year-old Calathes – and their combined 543 EuroLeague games and 453 starts – back into the starting lineup together.

Wilbekin had played in all 13 games under Itoudis but started just twice, whereas Calathes was in the first five in seven of his 10 appearances. Not once, however, did they start a game together in the first 13 rounds of the season.

### Wilbekin has really impressed of late

In the three-game stretch since Jasikevicius took over as head coach, Wilbekin is averaging 16.7 points on 45.8% three-point shooting, 4.7 assists and an average performance index rating of 19.3. He also has played at least 24:56 minutes per game, including 25+ in each of the last two.

Before Jasikevicius’s arrival, Wilbekin was shooting 38.8% on three-pointers and scoring 12.6 points while dishing 2.7 assists for a PIR of 11.5. He reached the 25-minute mark in just four games, too.

The best plays of Scottie Wilbekin since Saras Jasikevicius's appointment as Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul head coach three games ago.

Wilbekin's top plays since Jasikevicius's arrival

### Calathes has had a resurgence, too

Calathes, meanwhile, has played at least 20:22 minutes in his three games under Jasikevicius, who coached him at FC Barcelona. The playmaker reached that playing time just four times under Itoudis and Calathes featured for just 4:58 minutes in the Round 13 game against Barcelona, the third game he did not even play 8 minutes.

In the three-game winning streak, Calathes is averaging 5.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists in 26 minutes a contest.

Lots of observers will look at Jasikevicius coming in and Fenerbahce winning its first three games under the new coach and give him all the credit.

But a lot of credit also should go to Wilbekin and Calathes performing at a high level – or at least finally getting a chance to really do so.

More Fenerbahce News

Nick Calathes of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul is defended by Matteo Spagnolo of ALBA Berlin in Round 16 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

The backcourt duo have helped Saras Jasikevicius oversee a 3-0 start since arriving at the Istanbul club.

Nick Calathes, Scottie Wilbekin keep shining as starters for new-look Fenerbahce

ALBA Berlin v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2023-12-22T19:15:00.000Z)

The last of several unanswered scoring runs counted most and sent Barça Basket home breathing a sigh of relief after a visit to play Zalgiris Kaunas.

 In a game of runs, Barca laughed last in Kaunas 

In a game characterized by back-and-forth scoring surges that left no clear favorite midway through the fourth quarter, FC Barcelona was down 3 points with 4 minutes left against host Zalgiris Kaunas, staring at a double-round sweep and its third loss in four games.

Neither calamity came to pass, however.

Barca owned the last run, scoring the final 8 points as its defense completely blanked Zalgiris the rest of the way to end a two-game losing streak and retain its share of second place with an 11-5 record.

A tale of two halves saw the two teams combined for 107 points in a 51-56 first, when a total of four runs of between 7 and 11 unanswered points by either team kept the scoreboard flipping. 

Zalgiris's 5-0 run to start the second half seemed to give it control.  Zalgiris scored at least 22 points in each of the first three quarters to lead 73-70 after 30 minutes. But the hosts would  manage just 7 fourth-quarter points before Barc's defense shut the faucet off for good. 

Game Videos


While all shooting percentages were close or in favor of Zalgiris, two other stats stood out for Barca: an 11-5 advantage in offensive rebounds and a 25-17 difference in assists. 

In both cases, the collective effort to crash for missed shots and distribute the ball spelled the difference in the win. 

Jan Vesely led his team with 3 offensive boards while five more players had at least one. Tomas Satoransky and Nikola Kalinic each dished 6 assists while four other players had at least two. In fact, it was the first time this season that Barca had at least four players dish 4 assists each, with Nicolas Laprovittola and Rokas Jokubaitis each passing for that total, too.

Kalinic deserves special mention for his stats line of 12 points scored on 4-for-9 three-point accuracy to go with 8 rebounds, 6 assists and just 1 turnover in a team-high 36 minutes on court. His assist total was Kalinic's high in a season-and-a-half at Barca.

It all led to that final, four-minute shutout on defense, with starters Vesely, Kalinic, Satoransky, Laprovittola on court the entire time with Jabari Parker, who contributed 3 defensive rebounds that recalled head coach Roger Grimau's words at halftime.

"We had some good defense but didn't close the rebounds," the Barca coach said of the high-scoring first half. "In the end, good defense is when you have the ball."

Words of wisdom that his team made sure of down the stretch in Kaunas to win the last scoring swing and go home a winner.

Game News

Tomas Satoransky of FC Barcelona in action against Zalgiris Kaunas in Round 16 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

The last of several unanswered scoring runs counted most and sent Barcelona home breathing a sigh of relief.


Zalgiris Kaunas v FC Barcelona (2023-12-22T18:00:00.000Z)

Olympiacos B.C. is now 8-8 in the 2023-24 EuroLeague season after securing a 73-85 win at LDLC ASVEL in Round 16.

Olympiacos B.C. improved to .500 with a fine three quarters in Lyon

For the second time this week, last season's Turkish Airlines EuroLeague runner-up Olympiacos Piraeus displayed a good performance, especially for the first three quarters. But unlike in Bologna on Tuesday, this time it came out with a win.

After getting edged out by Virtus 69-67 in a dramatic finale earlier this week, Olympiacos preserved its big lead and [held off LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 73-85 on Friday night](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/euroleague-live-blog-ldlc-asvel-vs-olympiacos-bc/) to improve to an even 8-8 record.

### Olympiacos shined in Lyon

The Reds dominated, opening a 19-point lead late in the third quarter, 52-71. Through 30 minutes, Olympiacos shot 14-of-18 (77.8%) on two pointers, 11-of-23 from long range (47.8%) and had 21 assists.

"In Bologna, we also played a really good game, we controlled the game and we were up in the score for 38.5 or 39 minutes", head coach Georgos Bartzokas stated after his team beat ASVEL.

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne-Olympiacos Piraeus| Round 16 Highlights | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

ASVEL did rally, but Olympiacos did not allow the hosts to make it a nervy finish. After ASVEL replied with an 11-0 run and got within 7 points, the Reds put the game away and avoided any drama at the end.

Isaiah Canaan finished with a game-high 19 points on 4-for-7 three-point shooting, while Alec Peters scored 17. Moustapha Fall was everywhere with 8 blocks, 7 assists and 7 rebounds, and so was Nigel Williams Goss, who collected 11 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">Final🏀 ASVEL - <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OlympiacosBC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OlympiacosBC</a> 73-85 (40&#39;) <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EveryGameMatters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EveryGameMatters</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ASVOLY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ASVOLY</a> <a href="https://t.co/qWvN1LB26W">pic.twitter.com/qWvN1LB26W</a></p>&mdash; OLYMPIACOS BC (@Olympiacos_BC) <a href="https://twitter.com/Olympiacos_BC/status/1738297952513179874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

This was only the second win in the last six games for Olympiacos, but a balanced performance indicated the Reds are out of their slump.

Alec Peters of Olympiacos Piraeus is defended by David Lighty of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in Round 16 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

The Reds preserved the lead it built through the first three quarters before holding off its French counterpart. 

Olympiacos improved to .500 with a fine three quarters in Lyon

Dusko Ivanovic marked his 250th EuroLeague game in charge of Saski Baskonia with an 80-87 win at Anadolu Efes S.K. in Round 16 of the 2023-24 regular season.

Dusko Ivanovic celebrated Saski Baskonia milestone with win at Anadolu Efes

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz returned to winning ways in Round 16, [downing Anadolu Efes Istanbul 80-87](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/euroleague-live-blog-anadolu-efes-sk-vs-saski-baskonia/) at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall on what was a very special night for head coach Dusko Ivanovic.

Coach Ivanovic is in his fourth stint with Baskonia and Friday night marked his 250th EuroLeague game with his current team. He currently ranks third in the all-time list with 375 games coached, and exactly two thirds were with Baskonia. Only Zeljko Obradovic (509), Ettore Messina (454) and Ergin Ataman (404) are ahead of him.

This is Ivanovic's 14th EuroLeague season with Baskonia, which he led to the 2001 EuroLeague Finals and the 2005 EuroLeague Championship Game. He has a 141-109 EuroLeague record with the club (56.4% wins).

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">🤗 ¡Qué mejor manera de celebrar los 2⃣5⃣0⃣ partidos al mando de Baskonia en <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a> que con VICTORIA! ✅<br><br>Muy 🔝 Dusko<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoazenBaskonia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoazenBaskonia</a> <a href="https://t.co/03EtsNbDTG">pic.twitter.com/03EtsNbDTG</a></p>&mdash; Baskonia (@Baskonia) <a href="https://twitter.com/Baskonia/status/1738296569483403568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Baskonia stepped up late to beat Efes

Baskonia got the win in a way Coach Ivanovic will surely be proud of, playing with lots of intensity throughout the game before going on a 0-10 run in the fourth quarter. When Efes lost control for a second, Markus Howard had 6 points in that run and Baskonia quickly built a double-digit margin.

Baskonia did better in the second half, burying half of its 16 three-point shots after going 5-of-14 in the first half (35.7% 3FG). He had 6 assists before the break and 12 in the second half. Codi Miller-McIntyre had 10 of those 18 assists to go with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Markus Howard finished the game with 28 points. Coach Ivanovic praised both of them after the game.

"I think we played with patience on offense and defense and in the last quarter, we had Markus \[Howard\]," he commented. "He made some three-point shots and we took the advantage, but I think everybody, especially Miller-McIntyre, he played really well, organization-wise and on the fastbreak, and the moment that we needed to go up, we made 6-8 points easily. After that, it was easier for us."

Anadolu Efes Istanbul-Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | Round 16 Highlights | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Baskonia is 8-3 since Ivanovic joined the game early in the season. His team reaches the regular season's halfway mark against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan next week.

More Baskonia News

Dusko Ivanovic speaks to his Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz players during the team's game at Anadolu Efes Istanbul in Round 16 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

The Montenegrin tactician oversaw his 250th EuroLeague game in charge of the Spanish side.

Dusko Ivanovic celebrated Baskonia milestone with win at Efes

Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (2023-12-22T17:15:00.000Z)