Curtains are up: flashy Monaco get a historic win in EuroLeague season opener / News - Basketnews.com

The show has officially begun. 2021-22 season of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague started with a victory of AS Monaco (1-0).

Player of the Game EFF 17 Danilo Andjusic Points 17 Accuracy 5-8 Rebounds 1 Assists 2

In front of their home fans in the very first EuroLeague game of the club’s history, Monaco 75-63 (22-15, 16-13, 18-16, 19-19) beat Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (0-1).

Monaco started the game better and led from start to finish. However, the breakthrough of the game didn’t come up until the third quarter.

Paris Lee knocked down a 3-pointer, Mike James added a free throw, Donta Hall made two powerful slams in a row, while Monaco went on a 12-4 run and increased its lead to 17 points (56-39).

The visitors managed to cut the deficit to 11 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter (45-56). However, Danilo Andjusic answered with a shot from deep, Leo Westermann and Will Thomas added a couple of jumpers, and Monaco’s lead went up to 20 points - 69-49.

For the winners, Andjusic had a game-high 17 points (1/4 2PT, 4/4 3PT, 3/5 FT), 2 assists, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers, and 17 PIR.

James added 11 points (3/5 2PT, 1/6 3PT, 2/5 FT), 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 15 PIR.

“Very good feeling,” Motiejunas said on his comeback to the EuroLeague after 9 years break. “I’m especially happy because of the returned fans. I also think it’s way more fun to watch the game on TV when you can see fans inside the arena.”

The Lithuanian forward also said that playing with James reminds him of days back with the Houston Rockets when his teammate was James Harden.

“It really feels like I’m playing with James Harden. I can see how easy it is to play with him. Such a creative player like Mike makes your life way easier. It’s enough to look at each other and we know what we want to do. Mike is a leading player and he makes it easier for all of us,” Motiejunas said.

For Panathinaikos, the best performer was Ioannis Papapetrou, who finished the game with 16 points (7/13 2PT, 0/3 3PT, 2/3 FT), 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 14 PIR.

Tonight, Greek champions made only four 3-pointers out of 20 attempts (20%). Meanwhile, Monaco finished the game with 43% accuracy from deep (9 out of 21 3-pointers).

AS Monaco: Danilo Andjusic 17 (1/4 2PT, 4/4 3PT), Mike James 11 (3/6 2PT, 1/6 3PT), Donatas Motiejunas 10 (5/8 2PT), Paris Lee 10.

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens: Ioannis Papapetrou 16 (7/13 2PT), Daryl Macon 13 (3/5 3PT), Jehyve Floyd 8.

Mike James post-game comment:

Highlights

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