Monaco has never won at the Sinan Erdem Dome, it’s a done deal. Without a great Mike James (16 points at 6/14 on shots but 4 losses of balls for 8 evaluation in 33 minutes), Sasa Obradovic’s collective held on Friday evening in Istanbul at the end of a contested match. Back after his suspension, Elie Okobo (16 points at 7/9 on throws, 3 assists) was valuable, especially in a third quarter where the Roca Team regained the upper hand.
This victory comes at the right time because it validates the demonstration of the previous week against Real Madrid and has the merit of stopping a series of three consecutive defeats away. Above all, it allows the Roca Team (13-10) to return to the top 6, tied with Maccabi Tel-Aviv and only two wins behind Virtus Bologna, 3rd in the Euroleague.
Roller coasters
After a contested first quarter (23-22), Sasa Obradovic’s team took control by playing offensive basketball (27-34, 14th). But for the first time it fell back into individual failings (4 ball losses for Mike James in the first half), leaving Anadolu Efes to play their game. Carried by Elijah Bryant and Derek Willis, 10 points each at the break, the Turks finished the half with a 10-0 (43-39).
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Under the gaze of Zvezdan Mitrovic, Jerry Boutsiele… but also the JL Bourg players, who, after their match in Salonika, spend the week in Turkey before heading to Ankara, the Erdem Can players controlled the debates upon the return of the locker rooms (50-43, 23rd). But, cleaner on both sides of the field, the Monegasques gained momentum and finished the third act with a bang, with a 12-2, under the leadership of Donatas Motiejunas and Elie Okobo (60-65).
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Unbreathable moneytime
On fire at the start of the fourth quarter, Shane Larkin put Anadolu back in the game (70-72, 36th) but the Monegasque defense held on. In a moneytime where Monaco was always in front, Rodrigue Beaubois put his team within a length of a 3-point shot 37 seconds from the end (76-77), before doing it again 7 seconds from the buzzer… except that the Guadeloupean had actually bitten off by a few millimeters (78-79)!
A boon for Monaco. While he had just made 2/2 on the line a few seconds earlier, Elie Okobo missed a free throw, giving the Turks an opportunity to win on the last action. But, on the way back, Shane Larkin gave the ball to Rodrigue Beaubois and, this time, the French back missed the winning shot!
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— SKWEEK (@skweektv) January 26, 2024
This is a valuable success for AS Monaco, who will have two opportunities to fend off other playoff contenders, Partizan Belgrade and Fenerbahçe, from Gaston-Médecin next week.
Boxscore Anadolu Efes – Monaco / Euroleague standings
2024-01-26 22:46:04
#Monaco #wins #suspense #Anadolu #Efes
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