Name: Vassilis Spanoulis: 'This is a huge milestone for Mike James, 5,000 points'
Channel: Euroleague Basketball

AS Monaco head coach Vassilis Spanoulis was asked about Mike James becoming the first EuroLeague player to reach the milestone of 5,000 points following the Monegasque team's win over Baskonia in Round 25.

Vassilis Spanoulis: 'This is a huge milestone for Mike James, 5,000 points'

AS Monaco head coach Vassilis Spanoulis was asked about Mike James becoming the first Turkish Airlines EuroLeague player to reach the milestone of 5,000 points following the Monegasque team's win over Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in Round 25.

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On the night that saw Mike James reach 5,000 career points, AS Monaco Basket notched its third straight win in the EuroLeague by beating Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 92-85.

Mike James reaches historic milestone as Monaco defeats Baskonia, 92-85

On the night that saw Mike James reach 5,000 career points, AS Monaco notched its third straight win in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague by beating Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 92-85. Despite leading by as many as 16 points at halftime, Baskonia turned the game around and led 79-80 with 4:11 minutes left, but a strong finish by Monaco – led by Mike James and Nick Calathes – allowed the Monegasque side to grab the win. Monaco is now 16-9 while Baskonia drops to 10-15.

Mike James led all scorers in the game with 19 points – and he reached the 5,000-point mark for his career when he moved to 11 on the night. Alpha Diallo added 15 points, Matthew Strazel and Georgios Papagiannis both netted 12, and Mam Jaiteh scored 10. Nick Calathes also finished with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. For Baskonia, Trent Forrest had a team-high 15 points, followed by Donta Hall with 13, Chima Moneke and Luka Samanic on 12 each, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Nikos Rogkavopoulos on 10 apiece.

Game Videos

The fans inside Salle Gaston Medecin were treated to a show in the early going as Petr Cornelie and Papagiannis combined for three big dunks to give Monaco an 8-3 lead. Samanic and then Luwawu-Cabarrot stepped up to help Baskonia tie it at 10-10, and Forrest gave the visitors their first lead at 12-14. Hall reminded the Monaco fans of his talent with an alley-oop to set a 12-16 score, but baskets by Calathes, Papagiannis and Diallo made it 23-18 at the end of the first quarter.

Jaiteh made an instant impact after starting the second quarter, blocking Rogkavopoulos and scoring twice in succession against Hall as Monaco’s run extended to 11-0, ensuring it was 27-18. Baskonia was finding it difficult to keep pace with Monaco, which was showing great energy on defense and moving the ball excellently on offense. Strrazel, Jaiteh and Terry Tarpey gave Monaco its first double-digit lead at 35-23. James then appeared with a sidestep three and a layup, moving to 7 points personal, as Monaco went 15 points ahead at 46-31. Diallo’s three-pointer was the last score of the half, making it 51-35 at the break.

Game News

Despite Vassilis Spanoulis stressing the importance of defense with his halftime comments, Baskonia started the second half with a 9-1 to make it a contest once more at 52-44. Diallo’s layup and James’s three, which saw him move to 4,999 career points, gave Monaco a welcome boost at 57-46, then James went 1 for 3 from the line to eventually move to the 5,000-point landmark and set a 58-49 score. A three-point play by Hall inspired Baskonia at 63-57, with Moneke netting four points to make it a one-possession ballgame. Hall then blocked Diallo on one end and had a put-back dunk down the other to tie the game at 63-63. Yet, Strazel’s jumper and fast-break layup gave Monaco a four-point lead, 67-63, entering the final frame.

Strazel kept going in the fourth by draining a corner three, 70-63, but Baskonia was refusing to roll over. Moneke got the friendly roll on a triple and Forrest’s two free throws made it 70-68. When Rogkavopoulos scored a layup to set a 73-70 score, that was followed by two free throws by Hall and a Forrest layup as Baskonia went 73-74 ahead. Donatas Motiejunas’s three restored Monaco’s lead at 76-74, but Baskonia wrestled it back by edging 79-80 in front on a Rogkavopoulos layup, which came after an excellent offensive rebound by Hall. That would prove to be Baskonia’s last lead, though, as Calathes and James took over to guide Monaco to an eventual 92-85 victory.

Vassilis Spanoulis's team stays in third place in the standings

AS Monaco star Mike James spoke to EuroLeague TV after his team beat Baskonia in Round 25, a game in which the 34-year-old became the first player in EuroLeague history to reach the milestone of 5,000 career points.

Mike James after reaching 5,000 points: 'It's something nice to add to the résumé'

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Besiktas beats Trento 79-75 to earn playoff spot 

Besiktas Fidabanka Istanbul reached the BKT EuroCup Eighthfinals after a dramatic 79-75 home win over Dolomiti Energia Trento enabled the Turkish team to finish fifth in Group A with a 10-8 record. Trento, which had earlier lost any chance of advancing into the business end of the competition, finished at 6-12 in what has been a patchy season for the Italian league leader.

Derek Needham paced Besiktas on 17 points while Kyle Allman and Dustin Sleva chipped in with 12 each for the hosts, who nearly spilled a comfortable lead in a thrilling climax. At the other end, Jordan Ford carried Trento with a game-high 21 points, Anthony Lamb added 13 and Myles Cale netted 10 for the visitors.

Besiktas set the pace early and took a 10-6 lead but Trento fought hard to stay in touch, although the visiting team struggled to make shots from long range. Needham was clinical at the other end, hitting 3 of his opening 4 efforts from downtown as Besiktas carved out a 22-15 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The home team also dominated the paint, winning the battle of the boards 13-8 in the opening 10 minutes while Trento’s shooting woes continued in the second, as the Italian side missed their opening 10 attempts from deep and allowed the hosts to pull away to 34-23.

Trento, which had only pride to play for, refused to lie down, but failed to match the home team’s firepower as Besiktas sank 5 of 10 from downtown in the first half while the visitors went 2 of 14, with the Turkish team engineering a 46-35 halftime lead. 

Needham paced the hosts on 9 points at the interval while big man Uros Plavsic, who recently joined Besiktas from Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade posted 7 and 4 boards. Trento, which trailed by as many as 16 points late in the second quarter, relied on Ford who racked up 10 points and 4 boards.

Battling Trento put together a 0-11 run late in the first half and early in the second, slashing the deficit to 46-41 before a fine backdoor pass allowed Allman to dunk and snap that streak. That spurred Besiktas back into action and the home team ramped up its defense again to open up a 63-52 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Needham nailed another deep three early in the fourth to give Besiktas a 68-54 advantage before Trento replied with a Selom Mawugbe slam dunk and a fine Quinn Ellis mid-range jumper, forcing the home team’s head coach Dusan Alimpijevic to call a timeout. 

The contest remained relentlessly competitive and Trento further closed the gap to 74-70 in the closing stages as Ford sank a sweet three-pointer and forced another timeout from Alimpijevic with 2:21 left on the clock. Moments later, it was 74-72 and Trento then committed two successive turnovers, throwing away a pair of glorious chances to turn the matchup on its head as Sleva scored on a fastbreak at the other end. Jordan Bayehe then made a three-point play for Trento to make the score 76-75 with 15 seconds remaining, forcing a dramatic climax in which Needham held his nerve from the foul line to seal Besiktas’s progress.

The Turkish side did its job at home and reached the postseason after a nerve-jangling victory 

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