Maik Kotsar, Georgios Papagiannis named co-MVPs of EuroLeague Round 31 / News - Basketnews.com

Maik Kotsar and Georgios Papagiannis posted 40 PIR each in victorious efforts against ALBA and Bayern, respectively, becoming co-MVPs of EuroLeague Round 31.

Credit: Vangelis Stolis, Alius Koroliovas/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Vangelis Stolis, Alius Koroliovas/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Two big men who propelled their teams to home victories to start the double-round week,Maik Kotsarof Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz andGeorgios Papagiannis of Panathinaikos Athens, are the co-MVPs for Round 31.

Georgios Papagiannis

MIN:23.99PTS:8.67 (59.46%)REB:5.7As:0.77ST:0.43BL:1.23TO:1.17GM:30ProfileEuroLeague2022/2023

For both of them, it was the second such accolade in their careers. Their joint PIR of 40 was a career-high for each.

Kotsar led Baskonia in points (23), rebounds (10), and blocks (2) in 30 minutes of a pivotal 93-87 home win over ALBA Berlin.

Papagiannis paced Panathinaikos Athens to an 86-76 success over visiting FC Bayern Munich. The big man led the Greens in points (24), rebounds (11), and blocks (3) in 28 minutes on the court, during which he did not miss a single shot: 7 of 7 two-pointers, 3 of 3 threes, and 1 of 1 free throw.

He had the highest PIR in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague for a player who shot perfectly in the same game.

The third-best Round 31 performance came from Kotsar's teammate, point guard Darius Thompson, who set or matched career highs of 38 PIR, 21 points, and 4 steals while also dishing 11 assists in Baskonia's victory.

FC Barcelona guardNicolas Laprovittola followed with a career-high PIR of 32 in his team's 89-80 road win at Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade thanks to his 25 points, including 11-for-13 free-throw shooting and 7 assists.

His teammate, forward Nikola Mirotic, came in fifth for Round 21 with a PIR of 27 based on his 19 points and 8 rebounds in Barca's victory.

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