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Live Blog: Four home, three road winners on busy Thursday!

Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (2023-03-16T17:30:00.000Z)

AS Monaco v Virtus Segafredo Bologna (2023-03-16T18:00:00.000Z)

Zalgiris Kaunas v Olympiacos Piraeus (2023-03-16T18:00:00.000Z)

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv v Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (2023-03-16T19:05:00.000Z)

Real Madrid v EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (2023-03-16T19:45:00.000Z)

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne v Panathinaikos Athens (2023-03-16T20:00:00.000Z)

Valencia Basket v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2023-03-16T19:30:00.000Z)

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv gained a crucial and eventually convincing home win, 93-79 over visiting Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in a game of wild momentum swings on Thursday. Maccabi improves to 16-13 and jumps above Baskonia, which is now 15-14, into sixth place in the standings. Wade Baldwin starred with 24 points. Lorenzo Brown added 17 and Josh Nebo provided a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds. Rokas Giedraitis led five Baskonia players in double-digits with 18 points, while Darius Thompson had 17.

 Maccabi overwhelms and overtakes Baskonia, 93-79 

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv gained a crucial and eventually convincing home win, 93-79 over visiting Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in a game of wild momentum swings on Thursday. Maccabi improves to 16-13 and jumps above the visitor, which is now 15-14, into sixth place in the standings with five games left to play.

Maccabi held double-digits leads in the second quarter, but Baskonia roared back to go ahead just after the break. Maccabi took charge again at the end of the third, and stayed ahead the rest of the way. Wade Baldwin starred with 24 points and 8 assists, with Lorenzo Brown scoring 17 points. Josh Nebo provided a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Bonzie Colson had 11 points and 9 boards. Rokas Giedraitis led five Baskonia players in double-digits with 18 points, while Darius Thompson paired 17 points with 7 rebounds.

Game Videos

Nebo scored twice as Maccabi moved ahead, 17-11. Markus Howard and Thompson converted three-point plays to bring Baskonia back, but Jarrell Martin hit consecutive triples for a 29-23 Maccabi lead after 10 minutes. Brown scored 5 consecutive points in an 11-1 run before Baldwin's three-pointer made it 43-29. Giedraitis scored twice in a 0-11 run as Baskonia came back, but a pair of baskets from Nebo left Maccabi up 49-45 at the break. 

Daulton Hommes scored twice to spark a 0-15 Baskonia run at the start of the third, making it 49-60. Brown then hit back with 3 baskets in a 14-0 run for Maccabi before Baldwin took over with 8 fast points to make it 72-65 at the end of the third. Another Baldwin bucket helped complete a 13-0 run, and Maccabi stayed in control as a pair scores from Colson secured the outcome.  

Game News

Maccabi overwhelms and overtakes Baskonia, 93-79

 Josh Nebo, Maccabi: 'We're on the right track' 

### Oded Kattash, Maccabi coach

"We played a big part of the game good on defense. We had some tough minutes but we were playing against a very talented offensive team. We showed character. We put ourselves in a tough situation early in the second half, but we found a way, slowly slowly, step by step, to take the W and I'm proud of the guys. We've got to be honest, it wasn't their best shooting game – some of them because of good defense, some of them pure luck. Sometimes you need that, too.

“Another big win for us against a very talented offensive team. I like the way we played on defense for 28 minutes, with the right lineups to take away their rhythm. But we found ourselves early in the second half down 11, and we showed character again. That’s special for us.”

### Joan Penarroya, Baskonia coach

"We played a good game when we got to 60 points, but in the last quarter we need to improve and compete better. We won't score every time but \[we should\] compete better.

"Today was a difficult game for both teams. We played soft in the first quarter and Maccabi scored 29 points, controlling the rhythm and the rebounds. In the second quarter, we improved and our feeling on defense was better. After halftime, we had a 15-0 run – our defense was better, we collapsed the paint, made steals, ran the court and made passes. But when we got to 60-49, we needed to compete in this EuroLeague. We didn’t use tactical fouls, we lost the rebounds – 17 more for Maccabi – and we had a bad percentage from the three-point line, which is not usual. Five games left to fight until the end.”

### Wade Baldwin, Maccabi guard

"The defensive rebounding for us was key. We showed a lot of different coverages on them. I've got to give a lot of credit to Bonzie and Jerrell, playing out of position, guarding the point guard. Tactically, that's what we wanted to do. We were able to stay in it, it was a great game and we held Baskonia to 79 points; that's pretty good. We're happy that we're now 16 wins and 13 losses. Lorenzo is the best point guard in EuroLeague and I'm the best combo in EuroLeague. We have five more games left. If we don't finish out and make the playoffs, that statement holds no weight. But right now we're playing like the best duo in EuroLeague."

### Josh Nebo, Maccabi center

"It was a great team game for us, I feel like we competed very hard. There were times that we went down, we went back up, we went down, but I feel like we showed the character of our team tonight where we were able to play from behind and still not give up on each other. I feel like we deserve the playoffs – the race is very tight for the playoffs so every game is important, but I feel like we're on the right track."

Josh Nebo, Maccabi: 'We're on the right track'

The two top teams in the standings, Olympiacos Piraeus and Real Madrid, can become the first to qualify to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs in Round 29. Mathematically speaking, no other teams have that possibility in this round.

 Playoffs possibilities: Olympiacos, Real on the brink 

The two top teams in the standings can become the first to qualify to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs in Round 29. Mathematically speaking, no other teams have that possibility in this round.

### [Olympiacos Piraeus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/teams/olympiacos-piraeus/roster/oly/?season=2022-23)

Olympiacos Piraeus (20-8) will qualify to the playoffs with a road win over Zalgiris Kaunas (15-13), which tips off at 19:00 CET on Thursday

Olympiacos may also qualify with a loss by fewer than 10 points, but only if both Anadolu Efes Istanbul (14-14) and Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (15-13) lose their home games.

Efes vs. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (15-13) tips off a half-hour earlier, at 18:30 CET on Thursday.

Maccabi vs. Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (15-13) tips off at 20:05 CET on Thursday.

If Efes or Maccabi win while Olympiacos loses, the Reds could still find themselves in ties at the end of the regular season that, when broken, leave them in ninth place and out of the playoffs.

### [Real Madrid](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/teams/real-madrid/roster/mad/?season=2022-23)

Real (19-9) will qualify to the playoffs with a home win against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (12-15) on Thursday only if both Zalgiris and Maccabi lose their home games earlier that evening.

If Real and either Zalgiris or Maccabi win on Thursday, there remain tiebreak possibilities down the road in which Real would finish ninth.

Playoff possibilities: Olympiacos is in, Real just short

AS Monaco made a big step towards reaching the EuroLeague post-season after a strong defensive performance led to an 81-68 home win over Virtus Segafredo Bologna on Thursday with Elie Okobo excelling to nail a game-high 21 points for the winners. Monaco improved to 19-10 to assure itself at least fourth place with five games to play. Virtus fell to 13-16 as its playoffs hopes dimmed. Jordan Loyd added 15 points, Donta Hall 13 and Donatas Moteijunas 12 points for Monaco. Jordan Mickey paced Virtus with 14 points, Awudu Abass netted 12 and Milos Teodosic added 10.

Majestic Monaco steamrolls Virtus, 81-68

AS Monaco made a big step towards reaching the EuroLeague post-season after a strong defensive performance led to an 81-68 home win over Virtus Segafredo Bologna on Thursday with Elie Okobo excelling to nail a game-high 21 points for the winners. Okobo also racked up 5 assists and as many rebounds, driving Monaco to victory despite the absence of the suspended Mike James, the team's top performer. Monaco improved to 19-10 to assure itself at least fourth place with five games to play. Virtus fell to 13-16 as its playoffs hopes dimmed.

Jordan Loyd posted 15 points for Monaco, Donta Hall added 13 and 7 rebounds and Donatas Moteijunas chipped in with 12 points for the hosts. Jordan Mickey paced Virtus with 14 points, Awudu Abass netted 12 and Milos Teodosic added 10, but the visitors were brushed aside in the second half as they endured a torrid shooting night, hitting 11-of-33 three-pointers against Monaco's aggressive defense.

The first quarter was a see-saw battle with both sides hitting some tough shots while they also served up some spectacular blocks, with Abass denying Jaron Blossomgame in the game's opening possession before John Brown rejected Ismael Bako at the other end. Virtus nosed ahead 21-22 at the end of the first quarter and extended its advantage to 26-31 early in the second before an 11-0 run by the home side turned the tide. Monaco was up 41-37 at halftime as it dominated the boards, picking up 22 rebounds against the visiting team's 13 in the first half. Monaco had 10 offensive boards as Virtus struggled in the paint at both ends, with its long-range artillery also misfiring after the break.

Virtus did hit back in the third quarter thanks to a pair of three-pointers from Abass but having regained the lead, 47-48, the visitors then fell apart as Monaco produced an 11-3 run and never looked back. The hosts were 63-53 up at the end of the third quarter and with Virtus running on of steam, there was only going to be one winner. Okobo found an extra gear in the fourth quarter as he tormented his defenders with bursts of speed and accuracy, while Teodosic and Marco Belinelli missed one long-range shot after another for Virtus. The writing was on the wall for the Italian side after Monaco claimed a 73-57 advantage with a little over 3 minutes remaining and the home team ran out comfortable winners in the end.

 Sasa Obradovic, Monaco: 'We are still dreaming big' 

### Sasa Obradovic, Monaco head coach

"The way we won the game was amazing. The way we played defense in some periods, especially in the second half, was top-level. I am happy with this, of course, and we are still dreaming big. We are closer to the playoffs, and let's see what happens."

"Congrats to my team, I think once again we won in style. We won in a different way compared to the game in Baskonia, there we scored a lot and here we defended unbelievably. I am really proud of this team and the way they play together, the way they defend and support each other during the game. It's now important to keep our feet on the ground and play good basketball."

### Sergio Scariolo, Virtus head coach

"Congrats to Monaco and Coach Obradovic, at the end of the 40 minutes they deserved the win. They are by far the most athletic team in the competition and it's quite hard to play them in the paint. We selected our shots well but unfortunately we didn't have a good three-point shooting percentage. We created excellent looks which didn't go in. On our defensive end, we tried, but their 15 offensive rebounds made the difference. I am not totally unhappy with our effort as we have many players who are not in good physical condition. We found a way to compete and we proved that we belong in this competition, even if Monaco is on another level from the physical point of view. They deserve their position in the ranking and I wish them good luck for the rest of the competition. They are athletic, young and putting a lot of pressure on their opponents, meaning that you have to make buckets from the outside – but it's hard. It's not just their physical condition, it's the hustle, the effort and the desire to put this athleticism into the service of the team."

### Elie Okobo, Monaco player

"It's a great team win again. We fought a great team, they have a lot of weapons and we were able to contest that and make it difficult for them tonight. We've protected our own court and that's good. We've got to keep that streak going. We're going to play tougher and tougher teams. It's the last couple of games before the playoffs and we want to make sure that we win as many games as possible."

### Jordan Loyd, Monaco player

"Tonight, we struggled a little bit offensively but on defense, everybody stepped up. We had a great defensive game plan and I am very happy about that. It's really good to string some wins together. That's what we are trying to do at this time of the year."

Sasa Obradovic, Monaco: 'We are still dreaming big'

Sasha Vezenkov, Olympiacos: 'I always think positive'

### Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos head coach

"We lost our minds a little bit. When we took this difference, we missed a layup in transition and made a lot of mistakes. Basically, we stopped running on offense. They made three crucial three-point shots and came back to the game. They had the momentum but we managed to win the game. I really appreciate this win; it is always difficult to play here. You couldn't hear anybody besides you, so it was a great win with this crucial basket by Vezenkov at the end, and the last defense. It was really important for us. We didn't want to give them any three-point shots \[in the final play\], any open three-point shot. We didn't want to lose the game. We put pressure on the ball, they took an uncontested shot at the end but it's OK. Sometimes when the last shot decides the game, it's luck, but I think we deserved the win. For the whole game, after some difficult moments in the first half, we were winning the game and leading the score. I think we deserved it. We think we have creators everywhere. We have unselfish guards, forwards and centers. Moustapha \[Fall\] is always having a lot of assists, he deserves it. He was a crucial player in this game, basically because he finished some baskets around the rim and creativity. But we had movement away from the ball and found a lot of layups because of this."

### Kazys Maksvytis, Zalgiris Kaunas head coach

"I think today, both teams deserved to win. Congratulations to Olympiacos. From our side, I am happy with the energy we had, how we came back to the game, but it was not enough. We played against Olympiacos, which forced us to make many turnovers, and it cost us the game."

"I think we had a better first half, and they had two better plays at the end of the game. It didn't go 100% well \[the final play\] because Ulanovas didn't get the ball in the right spot. He improvised, still got the ball, but with different spacing. But still, we had a chance to score and we didn't."

### Olympiacos Piraeus forward Shaquielle McKissic:

"It was smooth \[his performance\]. We were without Sloukas tonight so it opened up some things for me. I was thinking pretty much, 'What would Sloukas tell me?' He told me to be aggressive, so that's all I wanted to do. I don't think anything in that fourth quarter kind of went according to the plan. Hats off to Zalgiris, they are a hell of a team. They made it really difficult and tricky for us but we were able to push through and get the win."

### Olympiacos Piraeus forward Sasha Vezenkov:

"I think that for three quarter, we tried to limit Zalgiris, one very aggressive team that is always playing 100%, especially in their arena, where they had a 10-3 \[home record\]. Big respect to their coach and to their players and to their fans, but I think, at the end, \[it came down to\] some big baskets, some good decisions on defense... We had the lead, 12-14 points, but we lost our minds. Zalgiris was serious and these things happen in basketball. If we want to be a championship team, if we want to be a high-level team, we can't let this big streak of Zalgiris happen. \[On the last offense\] I felt good, I felt confident as soon as the guys trusted me and the coaches gave me ball. I always think positive, so I was thinking I would make it \[the game-winning shot\]. At the beginning, I saw the ball a little bit short but in the end, everything went well. We didn't want to receive a three-pointer \[in the final play\], all the guys did a great job and we keep going. We have five more finals and have to keep fighting."

Olympiacos Piraeus is the first team in the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season to officially secure its place in the playoffs thanks to a 72-74 victory at Zalgiris Kaunas in Round 29 on Thursday. Currently sitting first in the standings with a record of 21-8, with six games left to play in the regular season, the Reds have been rewarded for their fine campaign to this point.

Now, the goal for head coach Georgios Bartzokas and his players is to secure home-court advantage, which proved pivotal in its five-game series victory against AS Monaco last season. Given its current position at the top of the standings and its 2-0 season sweeps of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, Olympiacos is in a good position to wrap up home-court advantage.

### Road to playoffs

Ever since Round 1, Olympiacos has been the team to beat. The Reds began the season with three road wins – at FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz – from their first four games, winning the other at home to Zalgiris Kaunas to tie for first place at 4-0. Rounds 5 and 6 saw a bit of a wobble as Olympiacos lost back-to-back contests, but the team quickly steadied the ship by winning its next four home games. In Rounds 14 and 15, Olympiacos lost two successive games yet again, but since then it has gone 11-2 over its next 13 fixtures to solidify its place atop the standings.

Olympiacos fans have been able to witness some impressive victories through the first 29 rounds, notably winning by 46 points, 117-71, at home to Virtus Segafredo Bologna in Round 12, beating Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul by a combined 47 points over its two games – 94-67 in Piraeus in Round 13 and 73-93 in Istanbul in Round 22 – and also downing ALBA Berlin by 33 points, 60-93, on the road in Round 24. More recently, in Round 28, the Reds broke the 100-point barrier for the second time this season after defeating FC Bayern Munich 102-74.

### Playoff experience

The good news for Olympiacos heading into the playoffs is that it has several players who have been there before. Kostas Sloukas, a two-time EuroLeague champion with the Reds in 2012 and 2013, and also a champ with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in 2017, is a calm head coming off the bench. Kostas Papanikolaou, who also lifted the EuroLeague title in 2012 and 2013, is in his first year as team captain after the retirement of Georgios Printezis, while the core of the Reds' team – MVP candidate Sasha Vezenkov, Thomas Walkup, Moustapha Fall and Shaquielle McKissic – all played big roles in their fourth-place finish last year. Alec Peters is another former EuroLeague champion, having had a limited role during CSKA Moscow's title-winning season in 2019.

### Playoff history

In the 2021-22 campaign, Olympiacos fell in the semifinals of the Final Four to Anadolu Efes Istanbul following Vasilije Micic's game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer. The team got to that point after defeating Monaco 3-2 in the playoffs to return to the Final Four for the first time since it lost the title game in 2017. During that series against Monaco, Olympiacos went 2-1 at home and 1-1 on the road, with Game 5 taking place in Piraeus.

Overall, Olympiacos has won seven playoff series and lost six dating back to the 2005-06 season. Its playoff record stands at 20-6 in Piraeus and 7-19 on the road. The Reds have reached seven Final Fours and won two EuroLeague titles this century.

Olympiacos is first to the playoffs!

Olympiacos Piraeus became the first team to qualify to the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs by downing Zalgiris Kaunas 72-74 in front of a sellout crowd at Zalgirio Arena in Round 29 on Thursday. Olympiacos improved to 21-8 and mathematically qualified to the next round. Zalgiris dropped to 15-14.
Sasha Vezenkov paced the winners with 25 points and hit the game-winner with 6.7 seconds remaining. Shaquielle McKissic added 18 points for Olympiacos. Rolands Smits led Zalgiris with 18 points. Tomas Dimsa added 17.

 Vezenkov takes Olympiacos to playoffs, 72-74! 

Olympiacos Piraeus became the first team to qualify to the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs by downing Zalgiris Kaunas 72-74 in front of a sellout crowd at Zalgirio Arena in Round 29 on Thursday. Olympiacos improved to 21-8 and mathematically qualified to the next round. Zalgiris dropped to 15-14 after registering its fourth home loss of the season.

Sasha Vezenkov paced the winners with 25 points on 9-for-9 two-point shooting and hit the game-winning basket, a baseline turnaround, with 6.7 seconds remaining. Shaquielle McKissic added 18 points for Olympiacos. Rolands Smits led Zalgiris with 18 points. Tomas Dimsa added 17 and Edgaras Ulanovas 12 for the hosts, who rallied from a double-digit deficit to take a 72-70 lead. McKissic and Vezenkov made the difference down the stretch.

Thomas Walkup got Olympiacos going with a three-pointer before Moustapha Fall and Vezenkov each scored down low for a 2-7 lead. Smits, Lukas Lekavicus and Ulanovas each struck from downtown to put Zalgiris in charge, 13-10. Vezenkov followed a triple with a jumper but Dimsa answered from beyond the arc for a 17-15 Zalgiris lead after 10 minutes. Arnas Butkevicius stepped up for the hosts, getting help from Achille Polonara and Dimsa to boost Zalgiris's lead to 29-23. Olympiacos found a go-to guy in McKissic, who scored 11 points in less than 5 minutes to give the Reds a 34-40 lead at halftime.

Ulanovas had 5 points in a 7-0 run which made Zalgiris regain the lead, 41-40, soon after the break. Vezenkov answered with a backdoor basket, a three-pointer and a layup-plus-free throw, single-handedly restoring a 42-48 Olympiacos edge. Vezenkov scored again and Fall's layup soon made it a 12-point game, 44-56. Kostas Papanikolaou struck from downtown and Vezenkov's buzzer-beating jumper fixed the score at 49-61 after 30 minutes. Smits sank three bombs from beyond the arc, getting help from Dimsa and Butkevicius to complete Zalgiris's comeback, 72-70, with 1:12 left. McKissic buried 2 of 3 free throws and Vezenkov added a turnaround jumper for a 72-74 score with 6.7 seconds left. Ulanovas missed a floater in the hosts' final possession.