We enter 2024 with a bang, as Round 18 comes to a close on Wednesday before Round 19 quickly follows on Thursday and Friday.
Game Center: Barca aces El Clásico; Baskonia, Virtus and Valencia win
Straipsnis
8 Minutė skaityti
Wednesday, January 3
Valencia Basket 93-88 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Valencia pulled off a season-high offensive display to defeat Efes 93-88 for a 2-0 season sweep of their games. The winners raised their record to 10-8 to retain a place in the top 10 of the standings while Efes fell to 7-11 with its fifth straight loss. Brandon Davies and Chris Jones netted 15 points each, Semi Ojeleye and Damien Inglis 14 apiece, and Jared Harper and Nathan Reuvers 10 each for the hosts. For Efes, Shane Larkin poured in 20 points while Tyrique Jones had 15, Elijah Bryant had 13, Darius Thompson 12 and Tibor Pleiss 11. Efes started strong and held a narrow 43-45 lead at halftime, but Valencia outscored the guests 28-21 in the third to lead 71-66 after 30 minutes and held it the rest of the way for a seventh home win in 10 games.
Virtus Segafredo Bologna 85-83 FC Bayern Munich
Virtus stretched its home winning streak to nine games after a hard-fought 85-83 win over Bayern to retain second place with a 13-5 record. Bayern dropped to 8-10. Tornike Shengelia paced the winnerswith 18 points while Marco Belinelli added 16, Daniel Hackett 15 and Isaia Cordinier 11, including a clutch put-back dunk that turned the tide in a rip-roaring finish. For Bayern, Carsen Edwards netted a game-high 22 points for Bayern but was contained in the home stretch, when Virtus snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a 15-5 run. Serge Ibaka racked up 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Andreas Obst and Sylvain Francisco amassed 12 points each.
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 75-73 Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens
Baskonia rallied from 17 points in the third quarter to beat Panathinaikos 75-73 with Codi Miller-McIntyre hitting the game-winning jumper with 0.9 seconds to play. Baskonia improved to 10-8 as Chima Moneke led the way with 20 points and 13 rebounds, Matt Costello had 11 points whileMiller-McIntyre and Tadas Sedekerskis added 10 each. Panathinaikos saw its four-game winning streak snapped in dropping to 10-8. Kendrick Nunn paced Panathinaikos with 25 points while Kostas Sloukas and Marius Grigonis both chipped in 11. Panathinaikos led 31-48 midway through the third quarter before Baskonia rallied to within 50-53 after 30 minutes. Moneke scored 15 fourth-quarter points, including a triple to tie it up 73-73 inside the final minute before Miller-McIntyre's heroics decided it for the hosts.
FC Barcelona 83-78 Real Madrid
Barcelona got back on track by beating Real Madrid 83-78 at home, handing its archrivals their first loss in regulation time this season. After back-to-back 20-point defeats, Roger Grimau's squad boosted its record 12-6 while Real dropped to 16-2. Jan Vesely had an incredible performance for Barca with 27 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter. The Blaugrana also had Nicolas Laprovittola (14 points), Nikola Kalinic (13) and Jabari Parker (10) score in double figures. Dzanan Musa led the way for Real with 19 points, with Mario Hezonja adding 16. Real led narrowly after each of the first three quarters before Vesely's 7 straight points in the fourth put Barca in charge at 69-62. Barca would take the game's first double-digit lead, 74-62, before off a late Real charge en route to the victory.
Tuesday, January 2
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 76-85 Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade notched just its second road win of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season on Tuesday night by defeating Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 76-85 at Ulker Sports and Events Hall. This victory improved Zvezda to a 7-11 record, while Fenerbahce fell to a 10-8 mark. This was the first loss suffered by Saras Jasikevicius since taking charge of Fenerbahce and the first defeat witnessed by the Fenerbahce fans in eight home games. It was Zvezda's first-ever win at Fenerbahce, too.
Zalgiris Kaunas 77-71 ALBA Berlin
Zalgiris Kaunas started the Andrea Trinchieri era with a hard-fought home victory, knocking off ALBA Berlin 77-71 in Round 18 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season. That win snapped a six-game losing streak for Zalgiris. Lukas Lekavicius hit a left-handed floater with 31 seconds left to make it 74-71, then Edgaras Ulanovas converted 2 free throws with 19 seconds to play to secure the win in front of a sold-out Zalgirio Arena.
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 93-83 AS Monaco
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv earned its second win in a row when it defeated visiting AS Monaco at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Round 18 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season on Tuesday night. The hosts built a double-digit lead, 20-8, midway through the first period and never looked back, despite several comeback attempts by Monaco. A 10-0 run late in the fourth quarter, when Monaco got within 78-73, finally put the game to bed. Maccabi improved to 11-7 as Monaco slipped to 10-8.
Olympiacos Piraeus 79-74 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
In a very physical battle at Peace And Friendship Stadium, Olympiacos Piraeus powered past EA7 Emporio Armani Milan and grabbed a 79-74 win in Round 18 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season. The Greek side extended its winning steak to three games and improved to a 10-8 record, while Milan dropped to 7-11.
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 90-77 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (10-8) strolled to a 90-77 home win over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (2-16) in Round 18 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season. This triumph boosted Partizan's confidence ahead of Thursday's "eternal" city derby at Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, while also piling more pressure on visiting coach Gianmarco Pozzecco.