Name: Napier wins the thriller! Motorola Magic Moment
Channel: Euroleague Basketball

Napier wins the thriller! Motorola Magic Moment 

 Napier wins it with a step-back triple!


FC Bayern Munich v AS Monaco (2025-01-15T19:30:00.000Z)

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade-Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul | RS Round 21 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2025-01-15T19:00:00.000Z)

U-BT Cluj-Napoca bounced back in style from its last home loss against Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem by pulling off a hard-fought win in Venice against Umana Reyer, 77-88, at the Palasport Taliercio in Round 15 on the BKT EuroCup

Cluj shocks Venice on the road, 77-88

U-BT Cluj-Napoca bounced back in style from its last home loss against Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem by pulling off a hard-fought win in Venice against Umana Reyer, 77-88, at the Palasport Taliercio on Wednesday night. Despite being ahead for 29 minutes, Cluj saw Venice tie the game entering the last period but managed to hold on and punished its opponent with a 0-10 run late in the game after the home team came within 77-78.

Zavier Simpson led all scorers with 25 points and also contributed 6 rebounds and 7 assists for a career-high PIR of 36. DJ Seeley followed with 16 points, Sasu Salin added 12, Mareks Mejeris chipped in 11 and Zach Hankins and Adam Makoka delivered 10 apiece for the winners. Tyler Ennis paced Reyer with 19 points of which 15 came in the first half. Mfiondu Kabengele recorded a double-double of 17 points and 10 boards, Jordan Parks scored 15 and Davide Moretti had 10 in the losing effort.

Game Videos

Seeley and Simpson run the show for the visitors early in the game. The former opened fire with back-to-back threes and the latter added a four-point play and an acrobatic layup to boost Cluj to a 2-12 lead after just 3 minutes. Reyer stopped the game, but had to wait until Xavier Munford took the court to see a reaction. Despite having missed all games since Round 1, he immediately delivered a three that Ennis followed with another two of his own to bring the hosts within 13-16. Cluj didn’t step back, though, and used a timeout to lock down on defense and keep the hosts scoreless for the next 4 minutes, during which they reconstructed a 14-22 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

Reyer kept struggling when the game resumed, unable to stop Hankins inside and allowing the Romanian backcourt to drive and score. As such, Cluj almost doubled the gap, making it 20-35 midway through the second quarter. Ennis came to the rescue for the home team, scoring 7 points in a row in less than 2 minutes to force a Cluj timeout with the score at 27-35. Kabengele shortened it even more with a baseline jumper, but the rally stopped when Seeley nailed a three and Makoka converted twice from the line to rebuild a double-digit lead, 29-40. A late layup by Mejeris, capping a superb ball movement by Cluj, closed the first half with the visitors ruling 29-42.

Game News

Kabengele stepped up right after the intermission, leading Reyer's offense with 6 consecutive points and securing the boards on both ends to reduce the gap to 35-42. Even though the visitors tried to slow down the hosts with a timeout, Reyer had already found its spark. Parks drilled a tough jumpshot, Seeley provided a layup and Kabengele kept delivering from the free throw line to make it a one-possession game, 44-46. Ennis evened things soon after, but Makoka, Mejeris and Salin showed up from deep with one triple each to abort the rally, 51-55. Cluj stopped a little bit when Hankins collected his third and a technical foul, as Wiltjer nailed his first three of the game to give Venice its first lead, 57-56, after 29 minutes. Amadeo Tessitori got the hosts even hotter with a three-point play, but Mejeris beat the shot-clock buzzer to close the third quarter with a 60-60 tie.

Mejeris inside and Simpson outside took the reins from Cluj entering the last stanza, allowing the visitors to regain a short advantage, 62-66. The hosts had Moretti as their main weapon, as he provided a couple of three-pointers to match the visitors’ offensive production. It wasn’t enough, though, because Seeley joined the party with a triple of his own and Simpson added a three-point play to cool it down, 70-76, with 6 minutes remaining. Reyer pushed inside with Kabengele once he got back on court, but cool-blooded Cluj responded to all comeback attempts. Salin hit from downtown to make it 77-81 when Reyer got within 1, as Simpson went again to the line to extend it to 77-83 entering clutch-time. Consecutive missed three-point attempts by Munford and Ennis allowed Salin to get another one and make it 77-86 soon after, good to seal the outcome and secure a tie-breaker advantage against Reyer.

A 0-10 run in the last 3 minutes decided the game for Cluj

Umana Reyer Venice v U-BT Cluj-Napoca (2025-01-15T19:00:00.000Z)

Fenerbahce Beko beat KK Crvena zvezda 91-96 on the road to record its third successive victory in the EuroLeague, improving to 13-7, while the Serbian team dropped to 12-9 after suffering its first defeat in five games.

Rampant Fenerbahce earns big road win at Crvena Zvezda, 91-96

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul beat Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 91-96 on the road to record its third successive victory in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, improving to 13-7, while the Serbian team dropped to 12-9 after suffering its first defeat in five games.

The lethal Nigel Hayes-Davis paced the visitors with a game-high 27 points, with Tarik Biberovic and veteran Nicolo Melli adding 16 apiece, the latter sinking his opening four shots from downtown as Fenerbahce went on to nail 17 of 35 behind the arc.

Marko Guduric produced an effervescent performance against his former club as he pulled all the strings on offense for Fenerbahce, posting 11 points and 8 assists while committing a single turnover.

At the other end, Codi Miller-McIntyre shined for Zvezda with a team-high 23 points and Isaiah Canaan chipped in with 17, of which 10 came in a third-quarter blitz when he bedazzled his markers with a pair of audacious floaters coupled with two long-range shots.

Filip Petrusev scored 12 points for Zvezda and Ognjen Dobric added 10, but the hosts were undone by poor defense which allowed the Turkish side a barrage of open looks as well as some easy points in the paint.

In addition, Fenerbahce took better care of the ball as it dished out 22 assists and managed 8 steals against only 6 turnovers, too much for while Zvezda’s tally of 16 assists, 11 turnovers and just 2 steals.

The hosts made a bright start and carved out a 24-21 lead at the end of the first quarter as they sank four of their opening five efforts from long range, but Fenerbahce turned the tide in the second as Melli and Biberovic found their range and buried Zvezda’s basket with an avalanche of three-pointers.

The visiting team hit 10-of-20 triples in the first half and took a 43-49 lead into the locker room at the interval. Fenerbahce carried on early in the third quarter right where they left off in the second, as Melli drained another one to give Fenerbahce a 45-55 advantage. Canaan then turned up the decibel level in the gym as he netted 10 points in a row for Zvezda, but Fenerbahce held firm and was still in cruise control, 61-70, ahead of the final 10 minutes of an absorbing contest.

Hayes-Davis, who gave his markers a roasting all night as he kept hitting shots from all over, hit top gear in the fourth to keep Fenerbahce in the driving seat as the Turkish team engineered an 80-92 lead in the home stretch. A late rally gave Zvezda a glimmer of hope as the hosts closed the gap to 91-94 in the final minute, but Guduric was ice cool from the foul line to make sure there was no last-gasp drama.  

The visitors shot the lights out from downtown to silence a raucous home crowd inside Belgrade Arena 

Jabari Parker had 19 of his 25 points in the second half as FC Barcelona beat Panathinaikos BC 82-73 in Round 21.

Jabari Parker leads Barcelona past Panathinaikos, 82-73

FC Barcelona grabbed its third consecutive victory by downing Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens 82-73 at Palau Blaugrana in Round 21 on Wednesday. Barca improved to 12-9 in the standings while Panathinaikos dropped to 13-8 and saw its five-game winning streak come to an end. 

Jabari Parker paced the winners with 25 points and 7 rebounds. Dario Brizuela added 15 points while Alex Abrines had 12 for Barca, which also gained the potential head-to-head tie-break advantage against the Greens. Jerian Grant led Panathinaikos with 15 points, Cedi Osman added 14, Juancho Hernangomez tallied 12 points and 10 rebounds and Omer Yurtseven netted 11 points for the visitors.

Grant got Panathinaikos going with a four-meter jumper, igniting a 0-6 run in which Osman had 4 points. Parker scored in penetration and fed Youssoupha Fall for an alley-oop layup. After Grant struck from downtown, Fall responded by scoring twice in the paint. Kendrick Nunn's floater restored a slim Panathinaikos lead. Parker followed a baseline jumper with a driving layup that tied it at 12-12. Nunn beat the buzzer with a step-back triple and Wenyen Gabriel added a driving basket for a 12-17 Panathinaikos lead. Chimezie Metu dunked and Abrines erased Konstantinos Mitoglou's jumper with a tip-in. Kostas Sloukas and Metu exchanged baskets to fix the score at 18-21 after 10 minutes.

Abrines buried a floater early in the second quarter and Metu's turnaround jumper put Barca ahead, 22-21. Brizuela erased Gabriel's layup with a floater and soon gave his team a 26-23 edge. Jan Vesely hit a jump hook before Hernangomez got his team within 28-26. Sloukas struck from beyond the arc and Grant bettered Metu's jumper with a three-pointer that prompted Barca to call a timeout at 30-32. Osman scored off a wild spin move and Yurtseven finished a three-chance Panathinaikos offense with a dunk for a 30-36 lead. Hernangomez took over with a tip-in that made it 30-38 at halftime.

Parker and Hernangomez traded three-pointers right after the break. Abrines joined the three-point shootout and Parker dunked to bring Barca within 38-41. Tomas Satoransky added a fastbreak layup and Punter buried a triple that completed the hosts' comeback, 43-41, after a 10-0 run. Hernangomez scored around the basket and Osman erased Parker's jumper with a driving layup that tied it at 45-45. Parker buried another turnaround jumper and bettered Grant's backdoor layup with a bomb from downtown. Grant scored again, but a red-hot Parker and Brizuela each scored from beyond the arc, which caused Panathinaikos to stop the game at 56-49. Brizuela sank a floater and got help from Juan Nunez to boost Barca's lead to 59-50 after 30 minutes.

Brizuela insisted from downtown to make it a double-digit game, 62-52, early in the fourth quarter. Yurtseven dunked and fed Nunn for a baseline jumper that made Barca call timeout at 62-56. After Nunez buried a jumper, Yurtseven answered with a close basket. Parker gave Barca a 66-58 lead. Brizuela improved on Yurtseven's dunk with a wild off-balance triple. Yurtseven kept pushing the Greens with a reverse layup which Parker matched with another jumper. Osman took over with a wild fastbreak basket and Grant erased Kevin Punter's baseline jumper with an acrobatic layup. Vesely scored around the basket but Hernangomez answered from downtown to give Panathinaikos hope, 75-70, with 46.3 seconds left. Abrines made free throws and added a corner triple to seal the outcome in style.

The Barcelona forward scored 19 of his game-high 25 points in the second half


FC Barcelona v Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (2025-01-15T19:30:00.000Z)

Strazel drives and connects with Papagiannis, who slams it home!

Papagiannis dunks off a smart Strazel dish! Motorola Magic Moment

 Strazel drives and connects with Papagiannis, who slams it home!

Kendrick Nunn missed but Omer Yurtseven fixed it with a wild put-back slam!

Yurtseven's put-back slam! Motorola Magic Moment

 Kendrick Nunn missed but Omer Yurtseven fixed it with a wild put-back slam!

Umana Reyer Venice-U-BT Cluj-Napoca | Round 15 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup   

Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse took care of business in Round 15 of the BKT EuroCup and cruised past Aris Midea Thessaloniki to keep pace with the other teams in the playoff battle while exacting a bit of revenge

Bourg took care of business versus Aris - and avenged home loss

[Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/jl-bourg-en-bresse/roster/bou/?season=2024-25) took care of business in Round 15 of the BKT EuroCup and cruised past [Aris Midea Thessaloniki](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/aris-thessaloniki/roster/ari/?season=2024-25) to keep pace with the other teams in the playoff battle while exacting a bit of revenge.

Bourg had three players score in double figures and seven more had at least 6 points in [the 51-92 victory in Greece](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/bourg-blows-by-aris-51-92-to-stay-in-playoff-zone/). The French side lost [88-91 at home](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/aris-stuns-bourg-88-91-on-the-road/) to Aris in Round 6.

“It was important for us to win here tonight for the future of the competition because the standings are very tight. And the first game against Aris was a loss for us. So it was revenge for us,” said Bourg head coach [Frederic Fauthoux](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/cosea-jl-bourg-en-bresse/bou/fauthoux-frederic/?season=U2024). “We are very happy. We did a very good job in the first half.”

The 2024 EuroCup runner-up put together a strong first 20 minutes and led 26-46 and never looked back for two straight wins. That gave Fauthoux’s team an 8-7 record as it tries to move up the Group B standings while also holding off [U-BT Cluj-Napoca](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/u-bt-cluj-napoca/roster/clu/?season=2024-25).

“It was a good game. We fought hard and that was what we came here to do,” said [Xavier Castaneda](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/xavier-castaneda/013266/), who scored 14 points in just 15 minutes of action. “We knew they were a tough team. They like to foul a lot. They fight hard so we had to fight hard as well. And we came out with a victory and that’s all that matters.”

Bourg showed why it is a strong offensive rebounding team with 17 boards off its own misses to lead to 17 second-chance points. Bourg had averaged 12.4 offensive rebounds - ranked fourth in the EuroCup.

The French side’s defense did more than enough, especially hassling Aris’s ball-handlers. The home team committed 21 turnovers against the team that forces the most miscues in the EuroCup - averaging 17.1 turnovers a game with a league-high 9.4 steals. That defense led to 23 points off turnovers, including 18 fastbreak points.

Bourg lays the foundation in the first half for a comfortable win 

Aris Midea Thessaloniki v Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse (2025-01-15T18:00:00.000Z)

Salin fixes what seemed to be a turnover, tapping the ball from the floor to launch the perfect fastbreak that Mokoka finishes with a strong  dunk

Salin creates a fastbreak from the floor! Magic Moment

Salin fixes what seemed to be a turnover, tapping the ball from the floor to launch the perfect fastbreak that Mokoka finishes with a strong  dunk 

Devon Dotson delivers the fine dime and Ante Tomic throws it down.

Tomic throws it down! Magic Moment

 Devon Dotson delivers the fine dime and Ante Tomic throws it down.

Dreamland Gran Canaria v Joventut Badalona (2025-01-15T20:00:00.000Z)

Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse avoided a slip-up in the fight for the playoffs with a dominant 51-92 victory at Aris Midea Thessaloniki in Round 15 of the BKT EuroCup

Bourg blows by Aris 51-92 to stay in playoff zone 

Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse avoided a slip-up in the fight for the playoffs with a dominant 51-92 victory at Aris Midea Thessaloniki. Bourg gave up only 26 points in the first half to improve to 8-7, giving it two straight wins after a three-game losing skid.

Brandon Paul poured in 19 points and Xavier Castaneda had 14 points to pace Bourg. Aris was eliminated from playoff contention as it fell to 3-12 on the season and 1-6 at home. D’Moi Hodge had 11 points as Aris’s leading scorer.

Bourg got into the bonus early on and made 8 free throws in the first 4 minutes for a 7-10 lead. Castaneda buried a three-pointer for 9 points and a 7-13 advantage. The cushion grew to 9-17 and Paul’s triple had Bourg up 12-23 after 10 minutes. 

Bourg continued to roll in the second quarter with the first 7 points for a 12-30 margin as Aris needed nearly 3 minutes to get on the scoreboard. Aris could not come up with stops and Brandon Jefferson and Castaneda drilled triples as Bourg doubled up Aris 23-46. The score was 26-46 at the break.

Aris was able to score a bit more consistently in the early stages of the second half and was down 32-49. But Bourg scored the next 9 points and increased the lead to 32-58. The advantage grew to 27 points three times and it was 40-67 after three periods.

Hodge opened the final frame with a three-point play but Bourg ended any doubts with the next 15 points en route to a comfortable win.

The French side had little trouble on the road to eliminate Aris 

Trefl Sopot-Bahcesehir College Istanbul | Round 15 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup   

Trefl Sopot v Bahcesehir College Istanbul (2025-01-15T18:00:00.000Z)

Zalgiris Kaunas recorded its seventh straight win over Virtus Bologna, ending its four-game EuroLeague losing streak in the process, by winning 77-68 on the back of 20 points by Sylvain Francisco.

Sylvain Francisco scores 20 as Zalgiris topples Virtus, 77-68

Sylvain Francisco’s fourth 20-point game this season proved key for Zalgiris Kaunas as it brought its four-game losing skid to an end against Virtus Segafredo Bologna, winning 77-68. Zalgiris has now won seven straight games against Virtus, with this victory improving Andrea Trinchieri’s men to an 11-10 record, while Dusko Ivanovic’s charges fell to 6-15.

Another key man in the victory was Arnas Butkevicius, who did a bit of everything with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. Edgaras Ulanovas had his best scoring night of the season with 16 points, while Dovydas Giedraitis added 10 points. Virtus’s Isaia Cordinier netted 18 points and Toko Shengelia posted 12 points.

Giedraitis and Francisco knocked down three-pointers either side of a Laurynas Birutis bucket as Zalgiris raced out to an 8-0 start. Andrejs Grazulis’s tip-in got Virtus off the mark 2:06 minutes into the quarter, but the visitors looked lost at sea and found themselves 16-4 down when Butkevicius drained a three-pointer from the Zalgiris logo. Nicola Akele and Momo Diouf did offer a boost to Virtus, but Ulanovas went to the line a couple of times and later hit a triple on the turn to give Zalgiris a 25-11 lead, with the score 25-13 after 10 minutes.

When Lonnie Walker hit back-to-back three-pointers to open the second frame – his first and second shots of the game – it looked like there was going to be no way back for Virtus, with Zalgiris up 31-13. With those two makes, Zalgiris was 8 for 10 from downtown. Matt Morgan converted Virtus’s first triple to make it 31-16, and slowly but surely the impact of Alessandro Pajola and Cordinier started to be felt, with the hosts’ lead trimmed to 11 points at 35-24 after a Pajola three. A stunning sequence by Butkevicius saw him race back to block Pajola before converting a three on the other end, 38-24, but Shengelia came to the fore in the closing stages as Virtus reduced the deficit to nine points, 41-32, at halftime.

Despite Francisco’s three to start the second half, Virtus’s momentum continued and Pajola’s triple saw the visitors get within seven at 44-37. Ulanovas, Francisco and Butkevicius stepped up to give Zalgiris breathing room at 52-40. Even though Virtus fought back again to get within eight at 55-47, Ulanovas restored a double-digit lead at 58-47. Alen Smailagic’s corner three gave Zalgiris a 12-point lead, 61-49, but Matt Morgan made a couple of free throws to set a 61-51 score after 30 minutes.

The more the game went on, the more it seemed that things were falling in Virtus’s favor. A 9-3 Virtus run to open the fourth, capped by an off-balanced basket by Cordinier, got the visitors almost within touching distance at 64-60. Francisco’s patience allowed Smailagic to dunk, 66-60, but Zalgiris soon found itself in the penalty with 4 minutes to play. Virtus again got within four points on a couple of occasions, with Grazulis and Cordinier converting (68-64, 70-66), then Francisco took center stage. His block on Morgan was followed by a stop-and-pop mid-range jumper down the other end, 72-66, before driving and scoring a layup with 40 seconds remaining to give Zalgiris a 74-68 edge. Butkevicius and Francisco added the cherry on top from the line, as Zalgiris won 77-68.

Since returning to the EuroLeague in 2022, the Italian side has gone 0-6 in this fixture

Zalgiris Kaunas v Virtus Segafredo Bologna (2025-01-15T18:00:00.000Z)

Tomas Satoransky feeds Jabari Parker with a wild fastbreak dunk!

Parker's fastbreak dunk! Motorola Magic Moment

 Tomas Satoransky feeds Jabari Parker with a wild fastbreak dunk!

Kabengele puts the ball on the floor to overcome all defenders and finish with a strong two-handed jam

Kabengele hammers it home! Magic Moment

 Kabengele puts the ball on the floor to overcome all defenders and finish with a strong two-handed jam

Bahcesehir College Istanbul came back from an 18-point deficit to beat Trefl Sopot 76-81 on Wednesday night. This win improved Bahcesehir to a 13-3 record, clinching the first place in Group A with three games to go, while already-eliminated Trefl dropped 1-14 on the season.

Bahcesehir rallies against Trefl to win Group A

Bahcesehir College Istanbul came back from an 18-point deficit to beat Trefl Sopot 76-81 on Wednesday night. This win improved Bahcesehir's record to a 13-3 and clinched first place in Group A with three games to go, while already-eliminated Trefl dropped 1-14 on the season.

Trefl made 7 of its first 11 three-point attempts to open a 43-25 lead, but Bahcesehir halved the deficit before halftime and then erased the rest in the third quarter, before pulling out the win in the final minutes. 

Jaleen Smith paced the winners with 25 points and 9 rebounds, Tai Odiase scored 20 points and Tyler Cavanaugh added 12 in the victory. Nick Johnson netted 18 points for the hosts, Aaron Best had 13 , Geoffrey Groselle 12 and Mikolaj Witlinski 11 in a losing effort.

Smith and Best opened the game trading triples, but then Nahiem Alleyne and Johnson hit back-to-back long-range shots for the hosts to open an 11-7 lead. Kenan Sipahi had a jumper and Odiase a put-back layup to keep the visitors close, but Alleyne knocked down another three. Then Johnson scored 4 more points as Trefl scored the last 9 points of the first quarter to take a 24-13 lead.

Groselle and Johnson made it 28-13 in the second before Cavanaugh snapped a 13-0 run, ending Bahcesehir’s scoring drought of almost 6 minutes. Smith’s driving layup cut it to 30-19, but Johnson and Jakub Schenk made a triple apiece, with Best hitting a short jumper in between to make it 38-21. A three-pointer from Jaroslaw Zyskowski, Trefl’s seventh of the night, increased the margin to 18 points. But Axel Bouteille drained a three and Odiase had a three-point play to spark a 0-7 run that Bahcesehir used to finish the first half and cut the deficit to 45-37.

Best opened the third quarter with a triple, but Sipahi and Smith scored the next 6 points to close the gap to 48-43 before back-to-back threes from Cavanaugh cut it to 50-49. Trefl struggled offensively, but Schenk scored inside to make it 54-49. However, Odiase’s three-point play tied it before a pair of baskets from Furkan Korkmaz gave the visitors a 54-58 lead. Schenk to finished the quarter by sinking 3 foul shots to make it a single-point affair going into the fourth quarter.

A triple from Best tied it at 60-60 and the teams traded blows with a Best-to-Johnson alley-oop dunk giving the hosts a 66-64 lead. But the visitors scored the next 8 points, with back-to-back triples from Sehmus Hazer and Smith giving Bahcesehir a 66-72 advantage. Johnson scored from the outside and Groselle twice from the inside to tie the game at 74-74 entering the final 2 minutes. Smith made a tough runner in a crowd in the final minute and Bouteille got a lucky bounce on a tough baseline jumper with 30 seconds left to make it 74-78. Groselle’s dunk gave the hosts hope, but Smith’s free throws sealed the outcome.

The Turkish side secured the top spot in the group

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica-Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv | Round 15 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup   

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica v Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv (2025-01-15T18:00:00.000Z)