In one of the biggest upsets of Round 15, Valencia played exceptional basketball, especially in the fourth quarter, to overcome Barcelona 84 – 83. The Taronja improved to 7-8 while their opponents dropped to 10-5.
It was a big team effort for Valencia with Jasiel Rivero leading the charge by scoring 16 points. Bojan Dubljevic followed with 14 points, while Jared Harper added 11.
Anybody who thought Barcelona would make easy work of Valencia made a colossal error. Coach Alex Mumbru made sure that his team is ready, especially at the beginning when Barcelona tried to pressure the ball and make a run. Instead, Valencia made sure to remain composed, battling for every position and even having a three-point advantage at half-time (41-38).\
Barcelona started off better in the third quarter and Nikola Mirotic found his touch with the basket (48-43), but Valencia remained calm and reclaimed the lead entering the fourth quarter (62-59). They made a run and then Dubljevic put up his team by 10 (79-69). But the game was far from over.
Nicolas Laprovittola was on a mission the entire game. Hitting another three-pointer (6-11 overall) with 90 seconds left, he cut the lead down to 79-75. That was just the beginning of a nail-biting finish. Nikola Mirotic hit a corner three with 15 seconds left, but Chris Jones drained two free throws that sealed the deal for the hosts.
Nicolas Laprovittola scored 28 points, Vesely added 14, while Mirotic stopped at 11 points.
Emporio Armani Milan vs AS Monaco: Milan finally going on a winning streak.
With a 21-1 run in the fourth quarter (28-9), Milan knocked out AS Monaco, getting the 79-71 win at home despite not having Ettore Messina on the bench due to an illness.
Hitting the buzzer-beater to close the third quarter and ending the game with a season-high 23 points and 6/10 from the perimeter, Billy Baron was Milan’s highest scorer of the night.
Giampaolo Ricci went really close to his first-ever EuroLeague double-double with 11 points and 8 rebounds. Brandon Davies followed with 14 points.
In his third game on this court after leaving Milan in 2019, Mike James had a losing effort of 24 points, shooting only 8/24 from the field with 5 turnovers. He also had 4 rebounds and 5 assists.
After hitting the game-winning buzzer-beater against ALBA Berlin, Elie Okobo scored 16 points off the bench.
Kyle Hines got ejected in the third period after receiving two straight technical fouls, being visibly nervous and angry toward the refereeing trio.
This ejection led to Milan emotionally turning the game around, being pushed by the Mediolanum Forum’s crowd. After closing the first half (47-34) up by 13 points, in fact, AS Monaco lost control of the game, scoring only 24 points between the third and fourth quarters.
Zalgiris Kaunas vs FC Bayern Munich: Evans crushes Bayern
Zalgiris Kaunas grabbed a 75-67 win over a shorthanded Bayern Munich at home to register its second consecutive EuroLeague victory. Bayern tried to put up a fight on the road despite featuring a 10-man roster due to multiple injury issues.
Keenan Evans had a monstrous game for Zalgiris with a career-high 32 points, four rebounds, and four assists for a PIR of 39. Edgaras Ulanovas was the only other Zalgiris player in double figures with 18 points, but it was enough for the Lithuanian team to improve to an 8-7 score. Bayern fell to 5-10.
In the absence of captain Vladimir Lucic, Ognjen Jaramaz, Nick Weiler Babb, Andreas Obst, and Zan Mark Sisko, two players particularly stepped up for Bayern: Corey Walden with 18 points and Augustine Rubit with 17 led the way. They led the way for the Bavarian side while Cassius Winston and Niels Giffey added 10 points apiece.
Bayern fought bravely, but the hosts took control midway through the second period. With a 13-2 run, Zalgiris got to a 39-30 lead, and from there, they never looked back.
The team from Munich didn’t surrender and managed to trim the deficit to four points in the opening minutes of the third period, but that was it from the German squad. When Zalgiris took a 60-46 lead near the end of the third quarter, there was no turning back for Bayern.
The team from Kaunas maintained a double-digit advantage without much of a fuss. It was all over for the Bavarians when coach Andrea Trinchieri got ejected for his second technical foul in the fourth quarter. Still, they managed to get to a single-digit deficit in the final moments and improve the final impressions.
Anadolu Efes vs Panathinaikos: Efes get easy win over Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos has improved since the start of the season, but the same applies also to Anadolu Efes, even if Shane Larkin is still missing.
The back-to-back EuroLeague champions got an easy 88-69 win with Vasilije Micic and Will Clyburn doing their duty.
The Serb guard had 19 points and eight assists, while Clyburn was the top scorer of the game with 23 points plus he got 10 rebounds.
Veteran center Bryant Dunston also had a very good night with 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals. From the other side, Dwayne Bacon finished the game with 20 points, after a scoreless first half. However, Panathinaikos couldn’t get into the game and be truly competitive against an offensively powerful Efes.
To be exact, Efes led 21-13 after the first period, the halftime score was 42-26, and the lead was 19 (67-48) after the third. The hosts dominated from wire to wire.
To be exact, Efes led 21-13 after the first period, the halftime score was 42-26, and the lead was 19 (67-48) after the third. The hosts dominated from wire to wire. ”
Derrick Williams added 13 points for Panathinaikos and Marius Grigonis returned to action with nine points.
I am (5,8”, PG, 18) currently playing in Macedonia for KK Kumanovo with aspirations to play college or professional basketball around the world. I love writing basketball articles not only to improve my English but also increase my knowledge in world of basketball!