Mike James reflects on historic Olympiacos quarter and envisions Monaco's next step / News - Basketnews.com

Mike James says some shooting would help AS Monaco.

Credit: Erikas Ovčarenko/BNS Credit Erikas Ovčarenko/BNS

At the end of the fourth quarter, Mike James was seen discussing something with AS Monaco assistant Manu Markoishvili on the bench.

Player of the Game EFF 21 Kostas Papanikolaou Points 15 Accuracy 5-10 Rebounds 8 Assists 0

On the other side, Olympiacos veterans Kostas Sloukas and Kostas Papanikolaou calmed down their teammates, urging them to celebrate in a composed manner.

They came to Kaunas not just to defeat AS Monaco, but to aim for the top and win the EuroLeague trophy.

Meanwhile, Mike James analyzed what led to the historic collapse after the long break.

AS Monaco returned from the locker room with a 12-point lead. However, Olympiacos unleashed a dominant 27-2 run in the span of 10 minutes and decided the game, 76-62.

Monaco only managed to score one two-pointer out of 7 attempts and missed all 7 three-pointers.

"Just some normal stuff. How we came out in the half of a big game. I would have liked the first couple of plays to go through me, considering I'm a veteran and a star on the team. I feel more settled and able to get people into the rhythm when we start games and halves with the offense running through me," recalled Mike James regarding the conversation with Markoisvhili.

"We didn't really do that in the third quarter. I expressed my opinion, and he had his. We move on from there," he added to BasketNews.

In the first three minutes of the third quarter, Mike James had one field-goal attempt.

He didn't see anything exceptional in Olympiacos' performance, especially in their defense.

According to him, Monaco's defense allowed Olympiacos to regain confidence by scoring easy points, while Monaco, on the other hand, couldn't make anything happen.

"I think they played the same defense as in the first half. I think we just started turning the ball over, lost some confidence in what we were doing, and got away from our normal game plan. When you have possessions that don't go your way, the basket seems really small," analyzed Mike James.

He finished the game with 17 points on 4 of 14 shooting, three rebounds, and two assists.

In his opinion, the main theme in the Monaco locker room after the game won't be negative.

"We had a great season. We had a historic season. We had a chance to beat them again, and we didn't take care of our business. Be happy, be grateful that we got there, and move on," James told BasketNews.

Monaco ambitiously introduced itself to the EuroLeague by making Game 5 of the playoffs. In their second season, they took another step forward, opening the doors to the Final Four.

What would be the next step for Monaco to reach the EuroLeague Final?

"Some shooting would help," James replied. "We were the worst three-point shooting team in the league. Either we have to start making some shots or bring in people who can."

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