Three games remain on Friday
Game Center: Five road victors from seven tonight; Cedevita, Jerusalem win at home
Straipsnis
7 Minutė skaityti
Thursday, December 4
Bahcesehir College Istanbul 85-100 Neptunas Kleipeda
Neptunas pulled off a massive shock at the restart from the national team break by blowing out Bahcesehir 85-100 on the road for an important victory in their fight for the playoffs. Neptunas closed the first quarter on a 2-12 run to lead 18-32 and then built the advantage to 19 points early in the second quarter. Neptunas just kept going and the cushion grew to 30 points with 7 minutes to play. Bahcesehir managed to trim the deficit to 14 points in the closing moments, but Neptunas got the road win.
Arnas Velicka poured in 18 points with 6 assists, Zane Waterman scored 16 points and Rihards Lomazs had 15 points to help Neptunas snap a two-game losing streak for a 4-5 record in Group A. Bahcesehir has now lost three of the last four games for a 6-3 mark. Six players scored in double figures with Balsa Koprivica collecting 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 blocks and Mateusz Ponitka had 13 points.
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 108-74 Slask Wroclaw
Cedevita Olimpija kept its spot atop Group A at the midway point of the regular season after a resounding 108-74 win over visiting Slask on Thursday night. The team from the Slovenian capital improved to 7-2 record, while Slask dropped to 4-5 on the season.
Cedevita used a big 37-point second quarter, in which it missed only 2 field goals, to open a 19-point halftime lead, then cruised the rest of the way for its fourth consecutive triumph. The hosts had six scorers in double figures led by Umoja Gibson with 19 points and 8 assists. Aleksej Nikolic netted 17 points, while DJ Stewart scored 14 in the win. Noah Kirkwood had 14 points and 9 assists for Slask.
ratiopharm ulm 87-100 Dolomiti Energia Trento
Trento finished the first half of the regular season in strong fashion by getting a big 87-100 road victory over struggling Ulm. Trento took control of the game in the third quarter with a 3-15 run for a 56-68 advantage. Ulm could not get closer than nine points the rest of the way. Trento used an 8-13 advantage in offensive rebounds for a 9-17 cushion in second chance points. Also, after making 7 of 12 three-pointers in the first half, Ulm missed its first 13 triple attempts in the second half.
DeVante’ Jones and Jordan Bayehe both scored 19 points for Trento and DJ Steward had 18 points. The Italian side snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to a 4-5 record. Nelson Weidemann paced Ulm with 21 points but 16 of those came in the first half, and Mark Smith had 20 points in the loss. Ulm fell to 4-5 with five losses in its last six games.
NINERS Chemnitz 63-87 Turk Telekom Ankara
Turk Telekom claimed a 63-87 road win over Chemnitz at MESSE Chemnitz to improve to 6-3 in Group B, while Chemnitz dropped to 3-6. Turk Telekom held the momentum for most of the night, with both teams finding scoring opportunities by attacking the rim in the first half. From the third quarter on, Telekom’s tightened defense limited Chemnitz’s scoring options, allowing the visitors to take control and close out the win.
Turk Telekom was led by Jaleen Smith, who finished with 17 points and 4 rebounds, while Kris Bankston added 12 points and 6 boards. Michael Devoe contributed 13 points and 7 assists, and Doğuş Özdemiroğlu chipped in 11 points and 4 assists. For NINERS Chemnitz, Amadou Sow posted 16 points and 5 rebounds, Kevin Yebo added 16 and 6, and Yordan Minchev closed with 10 points and 4 rebounds.
Lietkabelis Panevezys 61-74 London Lions
The London Lions bounced back in style from its last home loss against Bourg thanks to a solid road 61-74 win over Lietkabelis at Kalnapilio Arena on Thursday night. Despite trailing 17-16 at the end of the first period, the visitors took control of the game with a 0-15 run bridging the second and the third quarter to reach a game-high 18-point advantage (34-52) after 26 minutes. Despite several efforts to come back, Lietkabelis couldn’t get closer than 9 points for the rest of the game, allowing London to get its second away victory of the season and improve to 4-5. The home team slipped to 2-7.
Tarik Phillip was close to posting a triple-double by finishing with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists to lead the winners. Deane Williams followed with 15 points and 5 assists, being perfect from long range with 3-of-3 triples, while Chason Randle had 13 with 4-of-6 from deep. Jamel Morris paced Lietkabelis with 22 points and Paulius Danusevicius posted 10 in the hosts' losing effort.
Aris Thessaloniki Betsson 88-98 U-BT Cluj-Napoca
Cluj celebrated an impressive 88-98 road win at Aris and improved to 5-4 while the home team dropped to 4-5 after a see-saw affair. Aris made a flying start and raced into an 8-0 lead before Cluj regained some composure and slashed the deficit, but the home kept the upper hand and led 21-17 at the end of the first quarter. The visitors closed in to 39-38 late in the second as Aris began to struggle on offense but the Greek side headed into the halftime break with a slender 41-38 advantage. Points were hard to come by in a low-scoring third quarter and Cluj headed into the fourth with a 58-60 lead after stifling out the home team. A flurry of fast breaks saw the Romanian side surge ahead 80-91 with one minute left on the clock and Cluj closed out the game comfortably for a precious road win.
Mitch Creek paced Cluj on 27 points and 6 boards while Molinar Iverson racked up 18 points and 8 assists. Daron Russel chipped in with 16 points and 6 assists while Dusan Miletic added 12 points for the visitors. At the other end, Danilo Andjusic and Amine Noua sank 20 points each for Aris while Elijah-Mitrou Long added 15
Hapoel Midtown Jerusalem 98-66 Umana Reyer Venice
Jerusalem continued its winning ways, leading from start to finish and blowing past Reyer 98-66 on Thursday night in Belgrade. The Israeli side’s sixth straight win saw it improve to a 7-2 record, tied for the best in Group A, while Reyer dropped to 4-5 for the season. Jerusalem opened the game with a 14-2 run, led by 21 at halftime, and cruised the rest of the way.
Jerusalem had six players in double figures, led by Jared Harper, who had 18 points and 9 assists. Khadeen Carrington and Yovel Zoosman scored 15 apiece in a victory. RJ Cole scored 12 in defeat.
Friday, December 5
Besiktas GAIN Istanbul vs. Panionios Cosmorama Travel Athens (18:00 CET)
Besiktas (6-2) is aiming for a third straight victory as it welcomes a Panionios team (1-7) stuck in Group B’s last place. The home team’s outstanding offensive production (91.4 points per game) is based on the EuroCup’s second-most accurate three-point shooting (39.8%), with Brynton Lemar making 9 of his 13 attempts from deep in the last two games. In contrast, Panionios’s long losing run is the result of an offense which has only reached 80 points once in the last six games and ranks last in the competition with just 75.3 points per game, but an excellent start from newcomer Stedmon Lemon (20 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals against Lietkabelis last time out) provides some hope.
Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse vs. Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (19:30 CET)
It’s first against second in Group A as Bourg (7-1) receives a visit from Buducnost (6-2). The French team, which is 3-0 at home, has relied on outstanding defense recently, allowing just 64 and 68 points in the last two games. That will definitely be needed against a confident Buducnost team which has won five straight and poured in 101 points – led by Rasheed Sulaimon with 19 – to overpower Ulm last time out. For Bourg, the versatile skills of guard Adam Mokoka (12.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game) are a key driving force, and he faces a good backcourt battle against Yogi Ferrell, who has reached double digits in scoring in five of the last six.
BAXI Manresa vs. Veolia Towers Hamburg (20:45 CET)
The week’s action concludes with Manresa (3-5) seeking a return to winning ways while Hamburg (0-8) targets its first victory. Manresa has lost four straight and needs to recover the defensive stability that delivered early-season success, while hoping that Alfonso Plummer can continue the long-range accuracy which has seen him average 4.5 triples in his last three games. Hamburg’s hopes of breaking into the win column require all-round improved shooting accuracy: the German team has made just 50.2% of two-point attempts and 26.2% from long-range so far, respectively, ranking 18th and 19th in the competition. One cause for optimism is the addition of Devon Daniels, who scored 19 points on debut last time out.