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Game Center: Blowout victories for Zalgiris, Monaco; PAO, Valencia both won late
Makale
6 Dk okuma
Friday, January 19
Zalgiris Kaunas 98-75 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
Zalgiris celebrated its return to Zalgirio Arena after three straight games on the road by grabbing a convincing 98-75 win over the visiting Fenerbahce on Friday night. Andrea Trinchieri's Zalgiris improved to an 8-14 record, with Fenerbahce having slipped to a 13-9 mark. Keenan Evans led Zalgiris in scoring with 21 points, while he also had 7 assists en route to a PIR of 26. Laurynas Birutis followed with a double-double of 16 points and 10 boards in just 22 minutes, as he registered a career-high 28 PIR. Brady Manek scored 14 points and Rolands Smits chipped in 12 for Zalgiris. Wilbekin set the tone for Fenerbahce with 22 points on 6-of-11 from behind the arc and Johnathan Motley poured in 15 points in a losing effort.
Monaco showed why it came into the season as a title contender after blowing out league leader Real Madrid 98-74 at home. Monaco picked up an important victory in its fight for the playoffs, improving to a 12-10 record and 7-3 mark at home after having lost three of its last four games. Jordan Loyd paced four Monaco players in double figures with 19 points while Mike James collected 15 points, 6 rebounds, 12 assists and 5 steals. Alpha Diallo had 14 points and Donatas Motiejunas chipped in 13 points. Real saw its three-game winning streak come to an end in abrupt fashion as it fell to 19-3, including a 9-3 record on its travels. Dzanan Musa led Real with 12 points, Rudy Fernandez had 11 points and Fabien Causeur netted 10.
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens 84-71 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade
Panathinaikos grabbed a huge win in the race for playoffs qualification with an 84-71 triumph over Partizan, effectively taking a four-game lead over the Serbian team with head-to-head advantage secured. Consistent scoring from Kendrick Nunn powered Panathinaikos, ending as top scorer with 21 points. Dinos Mitoglou scored 16 points, and Mathias Lessort paired 14 points with 9 rebounds. Partizan was led throughout the game by a remarkable effort from PJ Dozier, who finished with 16 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds and 6 steals. James Nunnally added 13 points and Alen Smailagic 11 in a losing cause.
Valencia Basket 84-72 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Valencia snapped its three-game losing streak after a superb second-half performance gave the Spanish side an 84-72 home win over Milan. The hosts improved to an 11-11 record, while the Italian side dropped to 9-13. Former Milan center Brandon Davies and Chris Jones paced Valencia with 15 points apiece, while Semi Ojeleye added 14 for the home side. Jared Harper netted 11 points and Kassius Robertson added 10 to underline a smooth team effort by Valencia, which turned the game on its head in the second half. At the other end, Shabazz Napier led Milan with a game-high 20 points and Devon Hall chipped in with 17, but the support cast was well below par as Milan's offense came to a screeching halt after the interval.
Thursday, January 18
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 98-74 FC Barcelona
Efes has beaten two of the top three teams in the EuroLeague standings in back-to-back rounds after first defeating Virtus 99-75 and now downing Barcelona 98-74. This win improved Efes to a 9-13 mark, while Barca dropped to 15-7. Rodrigue Beaubois led all scorers by netting a joint season-high 21 points for Efes. Tibor Pleiss also added 17 for the victor, which had Dan Oturu chip in with 16 and Shane Larkin contribute 15. Larkin had a game-high 8 assists, too. Barca center Willy Hernangomez paced the visitors with 18 points, while Rokas Jokubaitis and Nikola Kalinic had 14 apiece.
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 90-91 Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Baskonia improved to 12-10 and boosted its hopes of reaching the playoffs after a vintage performance from Markus Howard propelled the Spanish team to a rip-roaring 90-91 victory at Crvena Zvezda (9-13) on Thursday. Howard scored 26 of his game-high 32 points in the second half, including 17 in the third quarter, as the visitors wiped out Zvezda's 52-43 halftime lead and turned on the heat after the long break. Chima Moneke added 13 points and 12 boards for Baskonia, including a crucial offesive rebound on Baskonia's last possession. Vanja Marinkovic chipped in with 18 points and Matt Costello netted 10 for the visitors. At the other end, Yago dos Santos paced Zvezda with 26 points and 5 assists, but a shorthanded home roster provided preciously little support to the Braziliian. Rokas Giedraitis scored 13 points for Zvezda, new signing Javonte Smart amassed 11 and Adam Hanga added 10 for the home side.
ALBA Berlin 65-82 FC Bayern Munich
Bayern picked up its first victory of the new year by winning comfortably at ALBA 65-82 to snap a four-game losing streak. Bayern finished the third quarter on a 2-12 run to improve to a 9-13 record, including a 3-10 mark on the road. Danko Brankovic set a career high of 14 points to go with 8 rebounds while Sylvain Francisco also had 14 points and Carsen Edwards scored 13 points in the win. ALBA missed a chance to book back-to-back wins for the first time this season in falling to 4-18. Matteo Spagnolo scored 15 points in the loss and Yanni Wetzell added 13 points.
Olympiacos Piraeus 89-72 Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
Olympiacos Piraeus cruised past Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv with an 89-72 victory in Round 22. Nikola Milutinov pulled off a sublime outing with 20 points and a career-high 20 rebounds as Olympiacos improved to 12-10. Maccabi also has the same record, but the Greek side has swept its opponent with two wins in their two games this season. Isaiah Canaan also scored 20 points for the Reds. Wade Baldwin led Maccabi with 18 points in defeat.
Virtus Segafredo Bologna 73-63 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
Virtus Segafredo Bologna overturned a double-digit deficit to record a key victory, 73-63, after winning the last quarter 28-9 against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. The French team appeared to have control until a 14-0 charge by Virtus totally changed the game, with Daniel Hackett’s 19 points – 10 of which came in the final quarter – helping prove decisive to snap a two-game losing streak. ASVEL was paced by a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds from Youssoupha Fall.