EuroLeague's beat: Wembanyama's erruption and dunk of the season / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: BNS, Aykut Akici - Getty Images | BasketNews illustration (edited) Credit BNS, Aykut Akici - Getty Images | BasketNews illustration (edited)

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.

Anadolu Efes attendance record, a new EuroLeague classic between Efes, angry head coaches, Victor Wembanyama's night, dunk of the season, inspiring Giorgos Bartzokas' timeout - that and much more in this week's EuroLeague Round 31 beat.

EuroLeague's beat Round 31

CROWD PLEASERS. In their home game against Real Madrid, Anadolu Efes Istanbul registered a new season record in attendance. Now, they own the top four places for single-game attendance.

GABI BACK IN SHAPE. "I'm getting better day by day," Gabriel Deck said following Real Madrid's loss to Anadolu Efes in Istanbul. That's obvious since the Argentinean forward racked up a new career-high 23 points, plus 10 rebounds and 4 assists for a PIR of 31.

It was Deck's finest performance since he returned to Madrid from the NBA and proof that he deserved more chances overseas.

VASA TAKING ACTION. As good as Deck was in the game, he didn't see Vasilije Micic coming to help Elijah Bryant, as the Serb stole the ball and made it 93-90 with an uncontested lay-up in transition. Less than two minutes were left on the game clock.

Rudy Fernandez's three-point shot missed the target at the buzzer, and Micic lays claim to have been the MVP for Efes, with his 29 points and 6 assists. Of course, that steal on Deck was the hustle play that largely decided the outcome.

FABULOUS TRIO. Ante Zizic, Jalen Reynolds, and James Nunnally combined for 40 of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv's75 points against AX Armani Exchange Milan.

"I think it starts in practice. Obviously, Avi [Even] is such a good coach and puts us in the position to do these things. I think tonight we played more together, and I think that is the heartbeat of this team. When we play together, the sky's the limit," Reynolds said post-game.

Maccabi arranged a 10-0 run at the end of the first quarter to gain a 12-point lead (23-11). The Israeli champions extended their domination in the second, leading the way by 16 points in the mid-quarter.

MESSINA VS. EVERYONE. On a bad night for AX Armani Exchange Milan, coach Ettore Messina was evidently in a very bad mood. First, he had a short exchange with Maccabi's head coach Avi Even and side assistant coach Doron Perkins.

He reacted straight after James Nunnally's last-second three-pointer, although Maccabi already were up by 14 (Maccabi lost the first game by 11), as the entire Armani coaching staff were almost on their way to shake hands with their opponents.

A few minutes later, he took issue with a question asked to him by a reporter in the press conference. The question was how concerned he was about his team's performance, to which Messina replied angrily: "Where were you in the last two minutes? Or do you want me to repeat it? Do you think I'm happy? Of course, I'm extremely concerned about the performance."

JALEN POSTERIZES KYLE. That's an accolade in its own right. Jalen Reynolds took advantage of the situation when James Nunally drew a double-team. Kyle Hines tried to protect the rim, as he always does, but he just made the snapshot even more spectacular, as Maccabi's big man took off for the dunk.

Reynolds finished the game with a team-high 14 points and 4 rebounds.

SARAS MAKES THEM 150.FC Barcelona need just one win to clinch first place in the EuroLeague regular season, after their convincing 95-87 win over ALBA Berlin.

Sarunas Jasikevicius reached his 150th game as FC Barcelona's head coach, posting a 118-32 record since he signed with the Catalan team back in 2020.

The Lithuanian mastermind has almost an 80% winning percentage. "It's been a lot of emotions since I came here. Three titles are probably the most important as it has given credit to the project. We have still room to improve as a team."

Nick Calathes, who played a high-team 26 minutes at Berlin, also congratulated his coach for the milestone. "Oh, I did not notice it. Congrats to him. He came here to win and what he has done as a coach in Barcelona is impressive," he noted.

LUKE LOSING EDGE. For the better part of the season, Luke Sikma had been ALBA Berlin's cornerstone. The American point forward had eight consecutive games with double-digits in PIR, but has registered five single-digit performances over his last six participations.

A season-low -4 in Vitoria was followed by another season-low in minutes played (12) vs. FC Barcelona. Even with their team captain in bad condition, the German champs developed into a playoff candidate. But now, their chances are slimmer than ever.

A TASTE OF SALSA. Nemanja Nedovic scored nine points in the fourth quarter to pace Panathinaikos OPAP Athens past FC Bayern Munich, but if it hadn't been for Howard Sant- Roos's tenacity, the Greens would have again walked away empty-handed.

The Cuban forward, who played most of his 33 minutes as a guard because of PAO's absences (Stefan Jovic, Lefteris Bochoridis) scored 15 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, made 3 steals, and had a career-best 29 in PIR. Not bad, considering that he averaged 7.3 points and 7.9 in PIR up until Tuesday's game.

AN UNEXPECTED REACTION. Trinchieri appeared very irritated and rather short-tempered in the post-game flash interview with EuroLeague TV when reporter Dora Panteli called the game's outcome "unexpected".

"What could we have done better? Fight COVID better, for example. Congrats to Panathinaikos, and I'm happy that they won an unexpected game," he said and left without taking any more questions.

SPACE JAM HITS BAYERN. Trinchieri was much calmer in the post-game presser. Referring to the hardships that he had to deal with while preparing his team for the game in Athens, the Italian coach said that COVID and injuries have made him feel he's part of fiction.

"It's like Space Jam. They took everything away, and you don't know what roster you're going to play. We lost chemistry and hierarchy," he explained.

"You can't point the finger at anyone. Shit happens - and this is big shit," he went on to say.

PRIFTIS TAKES RESPONSIBILITY. As another EuroLeague season is leading to an inevitable conclusion for Panathinaikos, with the Greens giving up on their playoff chances quite early, coach Dimitris Priftis was asked whether the situation could have been any different.

"There are things that maybe I should have done differently and some things that I still can't touch," he admitted.

"There were structural limitations, not allowing me to do anything. I have many responsibilities, which I don't renounce. I can't hide. Things could have been different. It's also about how easily you can move (on the market). We're not playing in the EuroCup. It's the EuroLeague - and if you're not ready, your opponents will expose your weaknesses," the 53-year-old tactician concluded.

Credit Vangelis Stolis

ROOKIE STEALS THE SHOW. A projected no. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Victor Wembanyama, had a night of his life in Kaunas.

The 18-year-old Frenchman beat six of his personal career-highs in the EuroLeague, including points, blocks, assists, steals, efficiency, and minutes played.

Wembanyama accumulated 14 points (6/7 2PT, 2/3 FT), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 5 blocks, 3 turnovers, and 23 PIR in a 72-68 win over Zalgiris.

READY. ASVEL's head coach T.J. Parker after the game, praised Wembanyama and noted that he proved that he can play against the best teams and players.

"The most important thing for me and him is to stay healthy. Tonight, he showed he can play at the highest level at his age," said Parker.

UNSTOPPABLE. That's one word to describe Wade Baldwin in the last month. On Wednesday, he orchestrated another spectacular performance and secured a very important win for Baskonia.

Against Fenerbahce, Baldwin was phenomenal once again, finishing with 24 points (4/10 2PT, 5/9 3PT, 1/2 FT), 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, and 25 PIR. Five 3-pointers is Baldwin's new career-high at the EuroLeague.

In the last 7 games, Baldwin has been averaging 19.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 25.1 PIR.

DREAM IS STILL ALIVE. That's at least what Neven Spahija is thinking about Baskonia's chances of making EuroLeague playoffs.

"Our goal now is to reach the playoffs. Players understand it, and we will go for it. We have improved a lot this month, and there's still time. Let's see," Spahija said after a win against Fenerbahce.

RETURN. Jan Vesely stepped on the court for the first time since December 23rd, and he did not disappoint.

The Czech big man finished with a team-high 15 points (7/7 2PT, 1/2 FT), 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, and 23 PIR.

PUSHING FOR THE TOP 8. Mike James is keeping Monaco's playoffs hopes alive. Monaco beat Olympiacos 92-72, as James accumulated 25 points (2/3 2PT, 5/7 3PT, 6/7 FT), 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 drawn fouls, and 27 PIR.

Monaco are still in 8th seed, aiming to become the first EuroCup team to clinch the playoffs spot in its first season.

WE PLAY FOR OLYMPIACOS. That was Giorgos Bartzokas' message to his players during the timeout at the end of the fourth quarter when Olympiacos were trailing 61-88.

"We are playing for Olympiacos, so we need to play," Bartzokas said. "Missing a basket is not a problem, but not getting back on defense and watching whatever they do, is a problem."

"This is a problem for everybody. You cannot choose games (in which you can) not to play. We need to fight until the end and move the ball. If there are no passes, it's not our basketball. This is what they want – that no one would share the ball," Bartzokas concluded his timeout.

TOP Plays of Round 31

Records of Round 31

PIR Gabriel Deck

Gabriel Deck (31)

Points Vasilije Micic

Vasilije Micic (29)

Rebounds Georgios Papagiannis

Georgios Papagiannis (14)

Assists Nick Calathes

Nick Calathes (8)

Steals Luke Sikma

Luke Sikma, Alpha Diallo, Pierria Henry (3 each)

Blocks Victor Wembanyama

Victor Wembanyama (5)

3-pointers made Mike James Mike JamesWade Baldwin (5 each)

Results of Round 30

Zalgiris Kaunas Anadolu Efes Istanbul 71-85 Olympiakos Piraeus Panathinaikos Athens 101-73 Real Madrid LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 70-58 Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz ALBA Berlin 85-68 FC Barcelona Crvena Zvezda Belgrade 82-70 Subscribe to BN+ and get access to exclusive content.