EuroLeague's beat: clearer playoffs picture and Barcelona's season-high display / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: BNS, Rodolfo Molina - Getty Images Credit BNS, Rodolfo Molina - Getty Images

BasketNews continues the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague beat edition. Here, you'll be able to find all the info you need about what happened in the latest EuroLeague round.

Clearer playoffs picture, the unexpected outcome for Ergin Ataman, incredible Maccabi run, ALBA's determination and rain of threes in Barcelona - that and much more in this week's EuroLeague Round 32 beat.

EuroLeague's beat Round 32

GETTING CLEAR. EuroLeague playoffs picture is getting clearer and clearer.

Barcelona already clinched the first seed, while Real Madrid, Armani Exchange, and Olympiacos are getting closer to securing the home-court advantage in the upcoming playoffs.

SHATTERED. Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz suffered a 68-78 against AS Monaco and lost all hopes of making the playoffs.

WASTED. Anadolu Efes had a comfortable 51-36 lead at halftime, but Armani Exchange showed character and eventually won 82-77.

This loss shattered all Efes' hopes of clinching a Top 4 finish in the regular season and home-court advantage before the upcoming playoffs.

VASA SHINES AGAIN. Vasilije Micic once again was brilliant, accumulating 27 points (6/7 2PT, 3/9 3PT, 6/7 FT), 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 5 drawn fouls, 1 turnover, and 28 PIR.

In this double week, the Serbian star averaged 28.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 28.5 PIR.

UNEXPECTED. After gaining a 15-point lead at halftime, Ergin Ataman didn't expect such an ending for his team.

"It was two different games. In the first half, we played especially, and on the court, we put our aggressive defense, rebounds, and transition offense," Ataman said after the game. "At the half time, I never thought that the game would turn like this."

CLUTCH. With 5:40 remaining, Real Madrid were leading 74-65, but then Maccabi went on a game-winning 10-0 run to secure a vital victory for their playoffs hopes.

Scottie Wilbekin made both free throws to give Maccabi a 1-point lead (75-74), which was enough until the final buzzer.

ICE COLD. Monaco and Baskonia sharpshooters decided to take a day off on Friday night.

Monaco finished with 6 out of 23 3-pointers (26%), while Baskonia hit 6 from 22 (27%).

GONE. After his career night in Kaunas against Zalgiris, Victor Wembanyama did not clock a single second against Olympiacos.

On Wednesday, the 18-year-old broke 6 personal career records and accumulated 14 points (6/7 2PT, 2/3 FT), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 5 blocks, 3 drawn fouls, 3 turnovers, and 23 PIR.

SUPER DUO. Tyler Dorsey and Sasa Vezenkov made sure to secure home-court advantage for Olympiacos.

Tyler Dorsey poured in 21 points (6/9 2PT, 3/6 3PT), adding 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 21 PIR to his performance.

Sasa Vezenkov added a double-double with 18 points (6/9 2PT, 2/5 3PT), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, and 26 PIR.

STAYING ALIVE. ALBA Berlin keep on fighting for the Top 8 finish with their teeth and nails.

The German team beat Crvena Zvezda 74-70, and with 4 games to go, ALBA (10-14) are three wins behind 8th placed Monaco (13-13).

END OF A SLUMP. Before the duel against Crvena Zvezda, Luke Sikma averaged 4.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.7 PIR in his last three games.

However, in Friday's game, Sikma accumulated 13 points (4/6 2PT, 1/3 3PT, 2/2 FT), 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, and 23 PIR.

1ST. Barcelona blew out Fenerbahce 88-67 and clinched the no. 1 seed in EuroLeague regular season for the second year in a row.

EFFICIENCY. Alex Abrines spent only 15 minutes on the court, but he finished the game with 18 points (6/7 3PT) and 16 PIR.

It was his best performance in the EuroLeague since January 15th, 2021.

RAIN OF THREES. Barcelona made a season-high 16 3-pointers out of 27 attempts (59%), with Nikola Mirotic and Abrines being the biggest contributors to such a result.

Abrines went 6/7 from downtown, while Mirotic added four 3-pointers out of 5 attempts.

TOP Plays of Round 32

Records of Round 32

PIR Vasilije Micic

Vasilije Micic (28)

Points Vasilije Micic

Vasilije Micic (27)

Rebounds Walter Tavares

Walter Tavares (11)

Assists Nick Calathes

Nick Calathes (10)

Steals Nikola Mirotic

Nikola Mirotic, Guerschon Yabusele,Keenan Evans,Thomas Walkup (3 each)

Blocks Walter Tavares

7 players (2 each)

3-pointers made Alejandro Abrines Alex Abrines (6)

Results of Round 32

Anadolu Efes Istanbul AX Armani Exchange Milan 77-82 stat » Maccabi Tel Aviv Real Madrid 75-74 stat » Monaco Basket Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 78-68 stat » LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne Olympiakos Piraeus 80-94 stat » ALBA Berlin Crvena Zvezda Belgrade 74-70 stat » FC Barcelona Fenerbahce Istanbul 88-67 stat » Thank you for reading us! We have even more content for you.