EuroLeague beat: Player-coach in Milan, ASVEL struggles and tough Spahija‘s words / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: D.Repečka, imago images/Eibner - Scanpix Credit D.Repečka, imago images/Eibner - Scanpix

BasketNewscontinues 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.

In-form Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, unbreakable Barca, once in a lifetime Nigel Hayes-Davis birthday, player-coach in Milan, bittersweet Maodo Lo's career night, struggling ASVEL – all of that and more in EuroLeague's Round 16 beat.

EuroLeague's beat Round 16

ON FIRE. After a rough start, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul found their gear. The Turkish powerhouse blowout Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (75-53) and secured their fourth win in a row.

"Happy for the win. Very important for us to confirm unity, togetherness, a defensive effort that we hoped for at the beginning of this year, said Sasha Djordjevic. "This was really a game that was won with team defense. Guys were very locked in."

LIKE A FINE WINE. 34-year-old Nando De Colo continues to prove that age is just a number. In the win against Baskonia, the French guard accumulated 17 points (5/9 2PT, 2/6 3PT, 1/1 FT), 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 turnover, 5 drawn fouls, and 26 PIR.

NOT A SERIOUS TEAM. "A team that only wins at home can't be serious," said Neven Spahija after the loss against Fenerbahce.

This season, Baskonia won only one away game. The Spanish team is also averaging a poorly 64.1 points per game on the road, making them the worst team in this area.

UNBREAKABLE. FC Barcelona faced Panathinaikos OPAP Athens without Nick Calathes, Cory Higgins, Alex Abrines, Sergi Martinez, and Nigel Hayes-Davis but despite that beat, the Greek powerhouse 85-82 and secured their 8th victory in a row.

"Our players showed great character," said delighted Sarunas Jasikevicius. "We reacted after a very bad defensive first half. But we set out to get a good defensive quarter. We did it, allowing PAO to score 15 points. Obviously, the fact that we scored 27 helped a lot. We managed to change the game."

MVP. Once again, Nikola Mirotic was the game-changer for the Catalans.

Barcelona's star finished the game with 20 points (5/6 2PT, 1/4 3PT, 7/8 FT), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers, and 32 PIR.

"We have to stay humble and keep working," he said after the victory. "I definitely feel more responsibility, which is something normal. Coach also knows that. He's giving me much more responsibility on offense. But it's not always about the offense. It's about sharing the ball."

BIRTHDAY BOY. After testing positive for coronavirus, Hayes-Davis had to stay in the hotel during his own birthday. Despite that, his teammates found a way to celebrate American's special day.

MVP MISSING. Vasilije Micic had a night to forget against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.

The Serbian star finished the game with 4 points (1/3 2PT, 0/6 3PT, 2/2 FT), 3 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, and -4 PIR.

WINGMAN. It's a good thing when you have Micic and Shane Larkin on the same team. The American guard accumulated season-high 26 points (3/7 2PT, 6/7 3PT, 2/2 FT), 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 1 block, 5 drawn fouls, and season-high 37 PIR to secure Efes win 92-78.

"It was a big game for us," said Larkin. "We came in here tied in the standings with this team, and it was a big game for both sides. So it was good for us to come in here and play hard on the defensive end, make some shots and get a big road win."

PLAYER-COACH. On Thursday night, Nicolo Melli almost drew a game-winning play against Real Madrid.

The Italian forward suggested to Ettore Messina that Devon Hall should miss the second free throw while he set up a screen for Kyle Hines, who could grab an offensive rebound.

Everything was executed to perfection, but Malcolm Delaney's 3-pointer went off the mark, and the Spanish powerhouse maintained a narrow lead.

LOCKED UP. After scoring 98 points on Wednesday against AS Monaco, Zalgiris Kaunas felt the clamps of UNICS Kazan.

The Lithuanian powerhouse was held to only 53 points and suffered a third consecutive loss (53-66).

SUPER MARIO. Mario Hezonja was shining bright again. After a double-double against CSKA Moscow (18 points & 10 rebounds), the Croatian star accumulated 20 points (4/9 2PT, 4/6 3PT), 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, and 22 PIR.

NOT THE SAME WAY. "We allowed Hezonja to make three 3-pointers in the same way," Jure Zdovc said after the loss.

However, Hezonja had other ideas.

"They were not the same!" Hezonja replied in the background.

CLUTCH. With less than 2 minutes remaining, Zenit St. Petersburg led only by four points (74-70).

However, then Jordan Loyd's hour began. In 70 seconds' time, the American guard scored 8 points in a row to secure his team's win over Monaco (85-74).

Loyd finished the game with 20 points (1/6 2PT, 5/5 3PT, 3/3 FT), 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 block, and 22 PIR.

"Best win of the year for me," Loyd said after the game. "Our team is depleted, they're hurting, a lot of guys under the weather, but we had the next-man-up mentality, and everybody stepped up – coaching staff and players. I'm really excited."

HEATING UP. It looks like Dwayne Bacon is starting to find his groove.

The former NBAer scored a season-high 21 points (5/10 2PT, 3/7 3PT, 2/2 FT) and added 2 steals, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 13 PIR.

A couple of days ago against Zalgiris, he accumulated 19 points (6/13 2PT, 2/6 3PT, 1/1 FT), 4 rebounds, 1 turnover, and 12 PIR.

BITTERSWEET. Maodo Lo had the best night of his career against CSKA Moscow.

ALBA Berlin guard accumulated career-high 26 points (3/6 2PT, 6/7 3PT, 2/2 FT), 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 7 drawn fouls, 5 turnovers, and career-high 34 PIR.

Despite his effort, ALBA lost 90-93.

CLAMPS. Olympiacos Piraeus held LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne to only 54 points and recorded the biggest win of the season (89-54).

Meanwhile, for ASVEL, it was the biggest loss and the worst offensive performance of the season.

SLUMP. After starting the season with 6 wins in 8 games, ASVEL slowed down. The French team won only once in the last 8 meetings.

DAY OFF. The dynamic ASVEL duo Chris Jones and Elie Okobo had a night to forget.

Both combined for 8 points (2/10 2PT, 1/3 3PT, 1/5 FT), 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers, and 5 PIR. In fact, Jones went scoreless, missing all four shots and both free throws.

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT. "Elie is part of a team. Of course, he's struggling," ASVEL coach TJ Parker conceded.

"In the beginning, teams didn't really know Elie Okobo. Now everybody has scouted us, and they know who he is, so it's much more difficult. They put the best defender on him every night. It's not easy," the French tactician continued.

I'm not worried about him. He's a great kid; he listens, he practices, watches the video, gets feedback," Parker added.

Credit PHILIPPE DESMAZES / AFP - Scanpix

SERBIAN DUEL. Vladimir Lucic scored 21 points (3/6 2PT, 4/9 3PT, 3/3 FT) and added 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 7 drawn, and 25 PIR.

Meanwhile, Nikola Kalinic accumulated 20 points (8/14 2PT, 4/5 FT), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, and 24 PIR.

Kalinic had the last laugh as his Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade beat FC Bayern Munich (81-78).

TOP Plays of Round 16

Records of Round 16

PIR Shane Larkin

Shane Larkin (37)

Points Maodo Lo

Maodo Lo, Shane Larkin (26 each)

Rebounds Tornike Shengelia

Tornike Shengelia, Othello Hunter(10 each)

Assists Lorenzo Brown

Lorenzo Brown (10)

Steals Nando De Colo

Nando De Colo (6)

Blocks Walter Tavares

Walter Tavares, Johannes Voigtmann(3 each)

3-pointers made Shane Larkin Shane Larkin, Maodo Lo(6 each)

Results of Round 16

Fenerbahce Istanbul Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 75-53 Panathinaikos Athens FC Barcelona 82-85 Maccabi Tel Aviv Anadolu Efes Istanbul 78-92 AX Armani Exchange Milan Real Madrid 73-75 UNIKS Kazan Zalgiris Kaunas 66-53 Monaco Basket Zenit Saint Petersburg 74-85 ALBA Berlin CSKA Moscow 90-93 Olympiakos Piraeus LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 89-54 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade FC Bayern Munich 81-78 Thank you for being with us! Subscribe to BN+ and browse ad-free.