Mike James' 13 straight fourth quarter points carry Monaco over Panathinaikos / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

AS Monaco (11-12) returned to the winning path at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, beating Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (5-16) in Greece 91-83 (19-27, 30-15, 16-19, 26-22).

Player of the Game EFF 29 Mike James Points 29 Accuracy 12-17 Rebounds 4 Assists 3

Eleftherios Bochoridis nailed a mid-range jumper at the start of the fourth to give Panathinaikos their first lead since the start of the second period (68-67). However, Mike James and Paris Lee kickstarted an impressive 13-0 Monaco run, helping the Rocca team regain a commanding double-digit advantage (80-68).

Panathinaikos managed to reduce their deficit to six after Howard Sant-Roos' 3-pointer (81-87), but there wasn't enough time left on the clock for them to come back, and Monaco came away with an eight-point victory.

Mike James scored 13 consecutive points in the fourth, finishing with 29 (8/10 2PT, 4/7 3PT, 1/1 FT) to lead Monaco in scoring. He added 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 6 turnovers, and 29 PIR.

"I made some shots early. That kinda gave me some confidence," James said post-game. "Sometimes the ball just feels good in your hands and every time I shot it, it felt good. My last EuroLeague game was awful and I didn't want to play bad twice in a row."

Jeremy Evens led Panathinaikos with 16 points (6/7 2PT, 4/4 FT), 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover, and 23 PIR.

Nemanja Nedovic's 3-pointer gave Panathinaikos the early six-point advantage (12-6). Monaco were able to cut their deficit to one (13-14), but Panathinaikos finished the period well, winning it by eight (27-19).

However, Monaco kicked into high gear in the second, going on a 14-1 run (33-28). Mike James' 3-pointer increased the visitors' cushion to eight (40-32). The visitors were up by seven going into halftime (49-42).

Panathinaikos Athens / Schedule

Panathinaikos Athens Zalgiris KaunasWed19:00 Panathinaikos Athens Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz75-63 Panathinaikos Athens Monaco Basket83-91 FC Barcelona Panathinaikos AthensThu20:00

Both teams displayed an abysmal assist-turnover ratio in the first half. Monaco only dished out four assists and had seven turnovers. Panathinaikos had five assists and nine turnovers.

Donatas Motiejunas scored four straight at the start of the third, Alpha Diallo added two free throws, and Monaco's advantage increased to 13 (59-46). However, Panathinaikos went on an 11-0 run, leaving Monaco scoreless for four minutes and cutting their deficit to four going into the final period (61-65).

Leo Westermann did not play for Monaco due to an adductor injury. However, Donta Hall, Rob Gray, and Brock Motum returned to action.

Their head coach Sasa Obradovic was happy that the team continues fighting for the Top 8: "Honestly, I'm happy with our guys. I think everybody gave a certain contribution to the game apart from Mike [James], who scored all those shots that belong to his repertoire. I'm happy for this win. It keeps us in the fight for the top eight."

On the opposing side, Daryl Macon, Georgios Papagiannis, and Lefteris Mantzoukas came back for Panathinaikos. Ioannis Papapetrou remains out after undergoing endoscopic surgery to treat sinusitis.

Monaco: Mike James 29, Dwayne Bacon 14, Paris Lee 12, Alpha Diallo 10 (5 REB), Will Thomas 8, Danilo Andjusic 7.

Panathinaikos: Jeremy Evans 16 (6 REB), Nemanja Nedovic 16, Howard Sant-Roos 15, Okaro White 12, Daryl Macon 10, Leonidas Kaselakis 8 (7 REB).

Highlights:

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