Round 24 roll call: Barca's season-high run

Claver boosted Valencia's offense in Athens

Valencia Basket pulled out a dramatic 91-92 win against Panathinaikos Athens in the Greek capital, with veteran big man Victor Claver enjoying a key role in his team's success. Claver entered this game averaging 4.5 points, and he had scored a total of 9 points in his last seven appearances. But, the 34-year-old, who is playing in his fourth EuroLeague season, tied a season high with 13 points against Panathinaikos. In 21 minutes on the floor, Claver made 3-of-4 three-pointers. That was the only shot he missed, because he also made the only two-point shot he took, as well as both of his free throws. He grabbed 3 rebounds and dished an assist, too. Claver had a team-high +11 in the +/- column in a game Valencia won by 1 point at the buzzer.

Walkup did his work in the shadows

Sasha Vezenkov stole the headlines with an MVP of the Round display in Olympiacos Piraeus's 60-93 win at ALBA Berlin on Wednesday night, but Thomas Walkup was also pivotal in the victory with his 15-point, 10-assist double-double. This is the second time this season that the American guard reached a double-digit total for assists, having previously dished 12 in Round 21 against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, but that day he fell just 1 point short of getting a double-double. In Round 24, Walkup largely allowed his teammates to steal the spotlight as he quietly went about his work.

Jokubaitis kept up his hot stretch

FC Barcelona thrashed Virtus Segafredo Bologna 75-92, and point guard Rokas Jokubaitis had to do a lot with it. He finished the game with 13 points on 3-for-5 three-pointers and 2-for-2 free-throw shooting, along with adding 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals for a PIR of 15. Barca was +22 against Virtus in the time that he was on the court. Jokubaitis is averaging 5.5 points and a PIR of 6.0 this season, but he has boosted those numbers up to 11.3 points and a PIR of 14.3 in the last three games. Jokubaitis, the 2021-22 Rising Star award winner, is rising to the occasion at a crucial point in the season.

Barca pulled away from Virtus with season-high run

Jordan Mickey pulled Virtus to within 1 point of Barcelona, 23-24, with 8:26 remaining in the second quarter on Thursday evening, but then the hosts saw the game quickly get away from them. Barca went on a 0-21 run, which is the biggest run made by a team this season, to open a 23-45 lead and take control of the contest. It wasn't until Tornike Shengelia scored a two-pointer with 1:10 to go before halftime that Virtus could stop the bleeding. Barca extended its lead to as many as 37 points, 31-68, in the third quarter, but that 21-point run in the second quarter is what put the visitors firmly in the driving seat.

Gillespie is Bayern's new blocks king

EuroLeague rookie Freddie Gillespie is quickly doing things that no other FC Bayern Munich player has done in the club's six seasons to date, most notably blocking shots. On Thursday, despite a 71-82 home loss to Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, the 2.06-meter center became the first Bayern player in the club's history of 201 EuroLeague games to register 4 rejections on the same night. What's more, that haul gave him a total of 24 blocks in as many games, which is the most in any one season for a Bayern player. Jalen Reynolds had Bayern's previous single-season mark with 21 over 39 games in the 2020-21 season.

Ivanovic's career marks had Zvezda roll in Tel Aviv

After missing two months and nine games due to broken ribs, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade point guard Nikola Ivanovic seems to be back to his old self. After Dusko Ivanovic's appointment as Zvezda head coach earlier this season, Ivanovic averaged 9.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 steals before getting hurt. Now, in his fourth game back from injury, Ivanovic shined in his usual role off the bench in Zvezda's crucial 86-89 road win over Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. In just under 17 minutes, Ivanovic had 3 points, hitting 1-of-4 three-pointers, but he tied his career best with a game-high 7 assists and set a new career high with 4 steals. His +12 in the +/- column was second highest of all the players in the game.