Two days after its precious success against Partizan Belgrade (85-70), one of its direct opponents in the race for the play-offs, Monaco did it again this Friday, against another rival in the race for the top 4, Fenerbahçe ( 76-69).
At Gaston-Médecin during this 25th day of the Euroleague, the Monegasque club turned the match around in the last quarter to win for the 15th time in its European season, and the sixth time in a row in all competitions combined.
Fenerbahçe, which remained on 16 victories in 18 matches in all competitions since mid-December, nevertheless quickly took the advantage (10-18, 7th then 27-38, 17th). Dominating the rebound, Sarunas Jasikevicius’ men remained in control throughout the first period, despite the enthusiasm of Mike James (11 points in the first quarter), now only the second highest scorer in the history of the Euroleague, and Élie Okobo (16 pts, 4 assists).
Just before the break, it was Amine Noua (8 pts and 3 rebounds), who planted twice at 3 points to continue to give a little air to the Turkish club (36-44, 20th), in the game more collective (only four Monaco players had scored at half-time).
A final XXL quarter
Returning from the locker room, the leaders of the French Championship narrowed the gap to come back to three lengths on several occasions (45-48, 24th then 53-56, 28th), thanks to Alpha Diallo at 3 pts. But the Istanbul club, with Johnathan Motley (11 pts and 8 rebounds) and Scottie Wilbekin (11 pts and 5 assists) will remain in control until the start of the last quarter and the shot from Mike James (23 pts and 6 passes in total).
The American leader scored 10 points in a row in just over two minutes to allow Monaco to take the lead for the first time since the opening minutes of the match (67-66, 33rd), well supported by John Brown and his defense aggressive (7 caused fouls, 15 points and 4 rebounds) which allowed the locals to control their advantage until the end (74-67, 38th), keeping the Turks to only 8 small points in the last ten minutes.
Now 5th, Monaco thus signs its fourth victory in a row in the Euroleague, which allows it to return to the same record as its evening opponent and Panathinaikos (15 victories and 10 defeats), one victory away from the European top 3 (Bologna, 16 victories for 9 defeats).
2024-02-02 21:51:25
#Valuable #victory #Monaco #home #Fenerbahçe #Euroleague
