Forcing 19 turnovers and stopping Bourg’s shooters proved to be keys to the win
Paris’s strong first half paved the way to Game 1 win

Paris Basketball checked most of the boxes on its game plan to ease past Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 77-64 in Game 1 of the BKT EuroCup Finals at Adidas Arena in the French capital on Tuesday. The hosts never trailed and led by as much as 60-33 early in the third quarter before a late Bourg push. Paris excelled on defense, used its defense to jump start its offense and controlled the paint.
Paris forced Bourg into 19 turnovers, while hounding the visiting team’s top shooters. The hosts collected 10 steals with TJ Shorts, Mehdy Ngouama and Justin Simon getting 2 each. The aggressive defense also kept Bourg’s best scorers off-balance as All-EuroCup selection Isiaha Mike misfired on all 7 three-pointers he attempted and EuroCup Rising Star Zaccharie Risacher was 0 for 5. As a team Bourg shot 4-for-24 (16.7%) from downtown.
When its defense was controlling the game, Paris dominated the pace en route to a 54-31 halftime advantage. It made two-thirds of its two-pointers in the first half, including 5 baskets off turnovers.
“Obviously a great first half from us, amazing defensive intensity and honorable offensive play. We built a big lead,” Paris head coach Tuomas Iisalo said after the game.
Bourg actually outrebounded Paris 33-42, with 16 of those coming on the offensive end. However, despite those numbers, Paris scored 15 second-chance points, which were 4 more than Bourg. The visitors took advantage of Paris seeking to run and crashed the boards, but in the end it did not make a major impact.
Michael Kessens, who had a season-high 7 rebounds in 14 minutes for Paris, was the game’s leading rebounder.