Obradovic after James' game-winner: 'Playoffs dream is still there' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Alfonso Cannavacciuolo/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Alfonso Cannavacciuolo/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Mike James heroics gifted another important win for UNICS Kazan, as AS Monaco beat the Russian team with a late 3-pointer from the American star. After the game, Sasa Obradovic was happy with the outcome but not the way it was achieved.

Player of the Game EFF 25 Mike James Points 25 Accuracy 7-20 Rebounds 1 Assists 7

"Every time, it's the same. We play well, and then suddenly, without any reason, we gave up our lead," Obradovic said in the post-game conference. "We made mistakes which don't belong at this level."

"I can understand tiredness, mental fatigue, but at the end of the day, we have to learn how to play games until the end. We had a 15-point lead, big teams never give a chance [of making a comeback].

You [have to] know when to shoot, you know what you play. You don't play sloppy, you must attack with a purpose. Congrats to my guys for a great fight. For the majority of the game, we played well defensively, we stopped them pretty well.

The dream is still there, and we have everything in our hands. We'll attack every game as every game is very big. With this win, we cancel our loss against Zalgiris, but we would be in an even better position now. Now we must regenerate and be ready for Friday," Obradovic finished his detailed statement.

Monaco's head coach also praised tonight's opponents, saying that this UNICS team is supposed to be in the Top 8.

"They played great basketball. They have a team that is supposed to be in the Top 8 with the experience and all the investment in the personnel they have. It's not easy to say, but we are underdogs," Obradovic noted.

"We want to take the role of underdogs and fight for every possession. We played a great team, you can see how strong and dangerous UNICS are. They punish every mistake you make," the Serbian added.

Obradovic also noted James' game-winner, stating that he's happy with his star. James finished the game with 25 points (4/9 2PT, 3/11 3PT, 8/8 FT), 7 assists, 2 steals, and 25 PIR.

Mike James

MIN:30.82PTS:16.08 (49.21%)REB:2.77As:5.88ST:1.38BL:0.12TO:2.62GM:26ProfileEuroLeague2021/2022

"Luckily, we found the way. I'm happy for Mike. Even though he missed some shots before, today he scored and made us all happy," Obradovic said.

Meanwhile, UNICS head coach Velimir Perasovic admitted that Monaco were a better side, adding that his team didn't use the chance they had.

"Congratulations to Monaco, they dominated all game," Perasovic said after the game. "We had our opportunity, but Mike James made a difficult shot and finished the game."

"We had problems with turnovers. 17 turnovers for such a game are too many. Also, offensive rebounds, especially in the last quarter when Monaco took a lot of them. It also decided the game. We fought and were close, but it wasn't enough," the UNICS head coach added.

Asked about his team's chances of making the playoffs, Perasovic noted that everything is still ahead.

"We have nine more games. Obviously, today's game was very important for both teams, but we need to think about the next game and try to win it. This is the only way how we can think," Perasovic concluded.

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