Exum's career-highs, Calathes' record carry Barcelona past scrappy Monaco / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: ZUMAPRESS.com-SCANPIX Credit ZUMAPRESS.com-SCANPIX

FC Barcelona (18-4) continue their dominance at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, securing their sixth straight victory after beating the visiting AS Monaco (10-13) 88-83 (20-20, 22-16, 24-26, 22-21).

Player of the Game EFF 31 Dante Exum Points 22 Accuracy 7-9 Rebounds 5 Assists 2

After being down by as many as 16 points, Monaco came back to tie the game at 66 in the fourth. Mike James converted three free throws and added a layup to give the visitors their first lead since the start of the second period (73-70).

However, Barca didn't allow their opponents to enjoy the upper hand for long, as Nick Calathes and Brandon Davies restored Barcelona's lead (78-75). Even though Monaco tied the game again at 78, two Dante Exum's free throws restored Barca's lead (80-78).

Davies added a deuce and a free throw, making it a two-possession game (83-78). Leo Westermann responded with a quick jump shot (80-83), but Exum made both shots at the charity stripe, helping Barcelona secure a five-point victory.

Exum led Barcelona with 22 points (5/6 2PT, 2/3 3PT, 6/7 FT), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 31 PIR. Exum recorder EuroLeague career-highs both in scoring and efficiency.

Nick Calathes became the all-time assists leader in the EuroLeague tonight, surpassing Vassilis Spanoulis. Calathes finished the game with 10 points (5/8 2PT, 0/1 3PT), 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 turnover, and 16 PIR. He now has 1 612 assists in the EuroLeague.

He was grateful to all the coaches and teammates that helped him reach this milestone: "I have been very blessed to have the coaches I have had and the teammates that I have had, so it goes to them, also, for making the game easy for me on the court. Obviously, it is a great honor and I am happy."

Mike James scored five straight points at the start of the contest to give Monaco the early 11-6 lead. However, Barcelona were quick to erase their deficit and tie the game at 20 after one.

Both teams went back and forth in the second, but the hosts finished the half well, securing a six-point advantage going into the break (42-36).

Nikola Mirotic carried Barcelona to a 13-3 run in the third, giving his team a commanding 57-41 advantage. But then, Dwayne Bacon caught fire and helped Monaco respond with a 13-3 run of their won, cutting their deficit to four going into the final period (62-66).

"We relaxed when we went up 12-13," coach Jasikevicius admitted. "I am glad we gathered ourselves and pulled it out. The next game is our mentality. We will play 15-16 games in the next month, the schedule is like this. We just have to move on to the next one and try to survive."

Barcelona: Dante Exum 22 (5 REB), Brandon Davies 11, Nikola Mirotic 11, Nick Calathes 10 (6 REB, 6 REB), Nigel Hayes-Davis 9, Sertac Sanli 9.

Monaco: Mike James 19 (6 AST), Dwayne Bacon 16, Donatas Motiejunas 13 (7 REB), Alpha Diallo 10 (8 REB), Leo Westermann 8.

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