Real Madrid vs ASVEL: Real Madrid makes easy work of ASVEL

After losing to Zalgiris, Real Madrid (10-5) is back in the winning column. ASVEL (6-9) was coming from three great wins but didn’t have a chance in Madrid.

Real controlled the game and had no problems getting an important 92-73 triumph.

Vincente Poirier led the way with 19 points, and Dzanan Musa added 15. For ASVEL, Amine Noua scored 17 points.

Gabriel Deck was looking like Messi, scoring 10 points in just five minutes in the first half and that was enough to knock down ASVEL. The French team had no answers on defense, and when Dzanan Musa caught fire and scored 11 points, the Spanish team had a comfortable 11-point lead at the half (45-34).

The French team tried to come back. They scored 25 points in the third quarter, but on defense, they simply could not get stops and that is the main reason ASVEL lost this game. Real open the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run (81-59) to seal the deal.

Baskonia vs Virtus Bologna: Baskonia is unstoppable 

With another great performance on both ends of the floor, Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz defeated Virtus Segafredo Bologna in Vitoria 90-79. 

It was the 5th straight win of Baskonia which jumped to a 10-5 record, good enough at least for a tie just behind the top spot of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings.

Vanja Marinkovic erupted and led the Spanish team to their fifth win in a row with 22 points, shooting 5/8 from beyond the arch.

Maik Kotsar added 12 points, Tadas Sedekerskis also and Steven Enoch scored 10 points, as Baskonia is entering the playoffs race and can hope for even more.

Virtus fell to 6-9, as Tornike Shengelia scored 15 points. Marco Belinelli followed him with 13, while Nico Mannion added 11.

After a tough first quarter, Baskonia made a big 11-0 run midway through the second and grabbed a 36-21 lead. Virtus couldn’t respond, and the teams went on the break with the hosts having a 14-point lead (45-31).

Joan Penarroya’s team even got a 20-point advantage in the third period, but Virtus remained hopeful after eight straight points to close it to 63-51.

Sergio Scariolo’s team ever trimmed the deficit to six points, and it seemed that the game will go into a dramatic finish, but, Baskonia stayed calm, pushed the guests back, and regained a double-digit lead. It was all over at Fernando Buesa Arena.

ALBA Berlin vs Maccabi Tell Aviv: Maccabi saved the last for Berlin

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv seemed to be in trouble for three quarters, but they dominated ALBA Berlin in the end and got an easy 83-70 win. To be exact, the partial score in the last five minutes was 20-5 in favor of the winners.

Jarell Martin with 21 points and seven rebounds was the top scorer of Maccabi having his best EuroLeague game, Jalen Adams added 17, however once more in the crucial moments Lorenzo Brown with 15 points and seven assists made things happen.

To be exact Maccabi has now two road wins and an 8-7 record, while ALBA remains at the bottom of the standings with a 3-12 record.

Maodo Lo scored 16 points for the losing side but it was not enough as his team scored in total just 23 points in the second half.

Initially, it was a close contest with Maccabi trailing by seven at halftime (47-40) and by two (63-61) entering the last period. The game turned into a dogfight with the guests finally getting the 66-65 lead after a goal foul by Bonzie Colson.

That was the end of it for ALBA. Maccabi jumped to an 81-65 lead, making an 18-0 run with Colson scoring all his seven points during this time and Brown also adding five, and Jalen Adams scoring a three.

Olympiacos vs Crvena Zvezda: Zvezda gets the big win against Olympiacos

Facundo Campazzo traveled to Greece, he was not eligible to play but even without him, Crvena Zvezda got the big 90-86 road win over Olympiacos.

It was a team effort for the winning side with many players contributing and Luca Vildoza ultimately stealing the show.

To be exact, the Argentinian guard scored 22 and dished eight assists, Filip Petrusev had 14 points, Luka Mitrovic scored 13 and the duo of Nemanja Nedovic and Ognen Dobric added 12 points each.

On the other side, Kostas Sloukas finished the night with 14 points and nine assists but missed the shot which could have won the game for Olympiacos. Tarik Black added 14 points and Sasha Vezenkov had 13.

Olympiacos had the lead in the first half, pushing it even to 12 points (42-30), however, Zvezda was trailing just by four at halftime (45-41) and got a 65-62 lead entering the last period with Vildoza beating the buzzer for a two-pointer.

After a three by Dobric, the guests suddenly had a 10-point advantage (73-63) after the first two minutes of the fourth quarter thanks to a 12-1 run.

Petrusev with one more three gave Zvezda an 11-point lead (76-65)  with six minutes left in the game, while the hosts couldn’t get their usual points from the three-point line, having until then a good but not great 35% (10/28), while Zvezda had the same made threes on a higher 47% percentage (10/21) and an admirable 73% in two-pointers (19/25).

Olympiacos bounced back to make it a four-point game (79-75), but Vildoza answered with a huge three (82-75). Olympiacos kept pushing and trimmed the lead to three (82-79) with two minutes left with Vezenkov scoring and then to two (84-82) with Giannoulis Larentzakis making a three.

The two teams exchanged buckets and with 15 seconds left, Zvezda was leading by two (86-84) and Olympiacos had the ball. Kostas Sloukas had the chance to win the game, but he missed his three-point attempt and Vildoza with two made free throws sealed the deal (88-84).

Sloukas scored (88-86) with 2,5 seconds left, Vildoza was fouled and made his free throws again and the game was over.

Olympiacos dropped to a 9-6 record, while Zvezda improved to 8-7.

Fenerbahce vs Partizan Belgrade: Big win for Partizan

Back in familiar territory, Zeljko Obradovic guided Partizan Mozzart Bet to a huge win, 73-72, against Fenerbahce Beko Thursday.

Despite shooting 41% from the field and losing Dante Exum to a fifth foul with 2:21 remaining in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 15 contest, the visitors prevailed in Ulker Sports And Event Hall, only the second win in eight games on the road this season, to jump to 6-9.

Recovering from a hand injury for his season and EuroLeague debut, Aleksa Avramovic emerged as the difference-maker. Dealing with big-time pressure right away, the Serbian guard tied the game with two free throws with 28.7 seconds remaining and followed up with the game-winning free throw with 3.5 seconds left. He logged six points and three rebounds in eight minutes.

Facing a couple of former FC Barcelona teammates, Nick Calathes and Nigel Hayes-Davis, Exum ended up with ten points. Drawing the highest PIR at the opposite end, Calathes went for 11 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, and Hayes-Davis with nine points, seven rebounds, and three assists.

From a brilliant seven-year run as the Fener play-caller, Obradovic was back as a visitor for the first time. Another intriguing storyline involving the legendary head coach was the latest matchup against longtime assistant at Panathinaikos, Dimitris Itoudis. He missed Balsa Koprivica (hand). Other players out of the lineup were Vladimir Brodziansky and Gregor Glas.

Sidelined with a knee injury for nearly one month, Scottie Wilbekin had 14 points, scoring exclusively in the middle quarters in the losing effort. Dyshawn Pierre finished with 13 points. The recent addition to the squad, Kostas Antetokounmpo did not play.

The reigning champions of Turkey’s BSL, carrying a 9-2 W-L tally in the domestic league, dropped to 10-5 in EuroLeague. It was the fifth straight loss across all competitions

Fouling out with 3:24 left in the fourth quarter, Tonye Jekiri lasted 18 minutes. He tallied eight points and four rebounds in his last appearance before undergoing surgery. He will join the injury list, currently consisting of Nemanja Bjelica (calf) and Johnathan Motley (calf). Ismet Akpinar, Samet Geyik, and Tarik Biberovic were out as well.