EuroLeague‘s beat: Nole in the house, fired up James and a night to forget for Bayern / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: D.Repečka, Srdjan Stevanovic, Christina Pahnke - Getty Images | BasketNews illustration Credit D.Repečka, Srdjan Stevanovic, Christina Pahnke - Getty Images | BasketNews illustration

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.

Anthony Randolph's comeback, happy days in Fenerbahce camp, Novak Djokovic's emotions in Belgrade, and horrendous Panathinaikos away form – all of that and more in EuroLeague's Round 15 beat.

EuroLeague's beat Round 15

ONE-QUARTER STORY. Baskonia were up for the first 18 minutes against Efes and handed the hosts a really hard time in Istanbul. "We had a lot of stress and missed a lot of open shots," Ergin Ataman said post-game. Efes shot 30 three-pointers, hitting only 10.

It took a great last quarter on both ends (21-10) for the reigning champs to knock off their opponents and snap a two-game losing streak.

NO WAY UP. Ten days ago, Baskonia dominated FC Barcelona on the road and then cruised past ASVEL Villeurbanne at home. However, they boast one and only EuroLeague away success in seven games, against ALBA Berlin.

Neven Shahija is 2-5 in his first 7 games on Baskonia's bench, and the Basques seem to perfectly fit the description of one of the first teams to bid farewell to the playoff dream.

LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY. Chus Mateo guided Real Madrid through the ALBA Berlin game since Pablo Laso (and Thomas Heurtel) tested positive for COVID, but Anthony Randolph stepped in.

The American forward had been absent for a full year after tearing his Achilles tendon in December 2020. Mateo handed him plenty of time (22 minutes), which proved enough for the 32-year-old to leave his mark. Randolph finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 15 PIR, scoring 11 points in the third quarter alone.

"I still have a long way to go," he admitted after the game. "It has been a long road to recovery, but thanks to my coaches, the teammates, and everybody for supporting me and keeping the faith in me."

ALBA FLYING LOW. As it happened in the game against Panathinaikos at OAKA, ALBA Berlin collapsed in the final stretch. Real Madrid were up by 11 (65-54) with six minutes remaining but ended up winning by 20 thanks to a 20-10 partial score.

The German squad remained competitive for the most part. Still, without star player Luke Sikma, who's the heart and soul of this team, and center Christ Koumadje, a third consecutive loss (including the German derby against Bayern Munich) have come their way.

A HAPPY NOTE. Up until a couple of weeks ago, Fenerbahce couldn't pile up two straight EuroLeague wins. The Turkish powerhouse was 3-9, and the future looked ominous. However, things have changed.

Fener beat AS Monaco, Zenit St Petersburg before downing struggling Maccabi. On an overall excellent shooting night for the hosts (10/25 from deep), Booker and De Colo were the cornerstones for Djordjevic's squad.

BOOKER'S HIGH. Devin Booker registered his season-best performance with 22 points (10/16 field goals), 6 rebounds, and 3 steals for a PIR of 23. He scored 8 points in the crucial fourth quarter when Maccabi had cut down the deficit to single digits.

MACCABI IN (DEEPER) TROUBLE. Fifth straight loss for the Israeli squad, who dropped to 7-8. This time, they were down by 19 (51-70) with ten minutes left. James Nunnally helped his team get back to contention, making it a six-point brawl (74-68), but the hosts came up with some offensive solutions, and the game was soon over.

HAYES-DAVIES. No, that's not a typo. Brandon Davies was subpar this time (6 points on 3/9 from the field), but Nigel Hayes-Davis seized the opportunity to shine and didn't let it go to waste.

So far, the former Zalgiris forward wasn't used to being a protagonist for FC Barcelona. Nevertheless, he logged 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists in Belgrade, leading the Catalan side on offense.

After the game, he gave a post-game interview to the EuroLeague for the first time this season, speaking about some amusing comments from coach Sarunas Jasikevicius."Coach gave me some sh*t about finally doing a post-game interview in EuroLeague. He said it's only for good players. I'll try to be more consistent, and hopefully, he'll be more proud of me." NOLE IN THE BUILDING. Zvezda's most famous fan, Novak Djokovic, was present in Stark Arena, putting on a show of his own with his reactions.

"Did the players go take a picture with Djokovic after the game? Then I will give them a fine! It's a joke, I love Nole, I actually saw his first-ever win in Wimbledon," Sarunas Jasikevicius recalled.

DEFENSIVE FORTRESS. AX Armani Exchange Milan forced Panathinaikos to a total offensive blackout. The score was 29-29, with almost two minutes remaining in the first half, and everyone was expecting a competitive showdown.

Ettore Messina's players decided otherwise. The hosts went on a 16-0 run between two quarters that essentially sealed the outcome. The visitors went 13/32 from inside the arc and had 17 turnovers that allowed Milan 9 steals. DEVON HALL RISES AGAIN. Devon Hall was one of the main reasons why Armani Milan started the season on an impeccable record. The former NBA and Bamberg player finished his first four games of his rookie EuroLeague season in double digits, a feat he got to repeat just once in the next ten contests, despite being very consistent from behind the arc.

Against Panathinaikos, Hall scored 12 of his total 19 points (on 5/7 two-point shots and 3/4 three-point shots) in a row, at the beginning of the fourth quarter when the Greens were still in the game.

3-POINT CHACHO. Sergio Rodriguez 519 career three-pointers surpassed Vassilis Spanoulis, and he is now after Juan Carlos Navarro, who leads the category with 623, far ahead of his fellow countryman.

THE HABIT OF LOSING. This season, Panathinaikos suffered their ninth straight loss away from home. On December 3, 2020, the team coached by Giorgos Vovoras conquered the fashion capital (80-77), but it was all downhill from there. Overall, the Greens have been beaten 19 times in a row since then.

SEASON-LOW. Holding the 2nd-highest defensive ranking in the Euroleague, UNICS Kazan held CSKA Moscow to their season-low of 67 points.

Scoring only 28 points in the first half, the Moscow club couldn't find their rhythm for the entire match. UNICS now leads the league in steals, averaging a whopping 9.33 steals per game.

FIRST DOUBLE-DOUBLE. Mario Hezonja notched his first Euroleague career double-double against CSKA Moscow.

The electrifying forward scored 18 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and was one of the keys to the stunning UNICS Kazan win against the perennial Euroleague powerhouse. And yeah, give us all the highlights.

THE PLAYMAKER OF DREAMS. Best-known for his scoring, Mike James provided a career-high 14 assists during the match against Zalgiris Kaunas.

It was the highest assist total of the 2021-2022 Euroleague season so far as well. It's the second time James has crossed the double-digit assist mark this year, having dished out 10 against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in October.

"If he keeps doing 14 assists in every game, I will be very happy," Sasa Obradovic said with a smile. "I'm very happy for him. He has to understand that he's a member of the team."

I remember how at the beginning of the season, he said that this is his team. Okay, lead the team. You have a team here, so involve everybody. I think he got the message, but we need to keep consistency," the head coach added.

BATTLE OF THE HIGHLIGHT MACHINES. Josh Nebo and Donta Hall have been known to provide mind-blowing highlight plays each week.

This time, the two highlight machines met each other, and the duel did not disappoint. Both Nebo and Hall dazzled with thundering dunks and powerful plays on the defensive end.

COACHES CLASH. Monaco's head coach Sasha Obradovic and Zalgiris front man Jure Zdovc had a fiery confrontation after the game. Zdovc opposed Obradovic on scoring points on the last drive in the OT, however, Monaco's head coach wasn't unnerved by his colleague's reaction.

"I really don't understand this. If you don't want us to score, why are you trapping?" Obradovic explained.

Meanwhile, Zdovc stood by his point in the post-game conference: "It was not a correct gesture, the game was already finished."

ROUGH NIGHT.FC Bayern Munich recorded their lowest PIR of the season - only 46. The head coach of Bayern Andrea Trinchieri was pretty blunt in his comments after the game.

"I'm sorry, shit happens. It was a bad night, but I stick with my players. I don't point fingers tonight," Trinchieri emphasized.

AN EVENING TO FORGET. FC Bayern Munich had a rough night, but their guard Nick Weiler-Babb probably wants to forget that evening as soon as possible.

The American gathered a PIR of -5, the lowest in his Euroleague career. Weiler-Babb missed all of his 3 shots, made 3 turnovers, and committed 3 fouls.

ALEX THE GREAT. Best-known for his high energy and versatility on the defensive end, Alex Poythress recorded his Euroleague career-high of 16 points against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.

The American center was near-perfect from the field and provided the spark to overcome a resilient French team on the road.

WHERE HAVE YOU GONE?After starting the season as one of the brightest and biggest surprises of the year, Elie Okobo has been struggling lately.

Averaging a dazzling 19.6 PIR in the first 10 games, the French guard has been slowed down. A rough night against Zenit St Petersburg rounds up to only 9 PIR average during the last 5 matches.

TOP Plays of Round 15

Records of Round 15

PIR Vasilije Micic

Vasilije Micic, Mike James (31 each)

Points Vasilije Micic

Vasilije Micic (24)

Rebounds Ognjen Kuzmic

Ognjen Kuzmic (14)

Assists Mike James

Mike James (14)

Steals Nicolo Melli

Nicolo Melli, Devin Booker, Dejan Davidovac (3 each)

Blocks Jan Vesely

Jan Vesely, James Gist,Devin Booker(3 each)

3-pointers made Jayson Granger Jayson Granger, Janis Strelnieks (5 each)

Results of Round 15

Anadolu Efes Istanbul Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 87-72 Fenerbahce Istanbul Maccabi Tel Aviv 90-79 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade FC Barcelona 69-76 AX Armani Exchange Milan Panathinaikos Athens 75-54 Real Madrid ALBA Berlin 87-64 CSKA Moscow UNIKS Kazan 67-88 Zalgiris Kaunas Monaco Basket 98-107 Olympiakos Piraeus FC Bayern Munich 83-60 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne Zenit Saint Petersburg 61-71 Thank you for reading us! We have even more content for you.