Milan alone at the top in Euroleague, five teams tied for second place

Anadolu Efes Istanbul 79-90 Zenit St Petersburg

Zenit St Petersburg hit 14 three-pointers en-route to running away with a 79-90 road win against reigning EuroLeague champion Anadolu Efes Istanbul on Friday at Sinan Erdem Dome. Zenit improved to 5-3 on the season, while Efes dropped to 2-6. Zenit took control with a 2-13 second-quarter run, then blew the game open with a 0-12 spurt after halftime that had the visitors up 40-66 midway through the third quarter. Conner Frankamp paced Zenit with 18 points. Mindaugas Kuzminskas scored 15, while Billy Baron and Jordan Mickey added 10 apiece. Shane Larkin finished with 14 points for Efes. Tibor Pleiss scored 13, Rodrigue Beaubois had 11, while Elijah Bryant and Adrien Moerman each scored 10 in a losing effort.

Zalgiris Kaunas 71-79 ALBA Berlin

ALBA Berlin stayed strong on the road to claim a 71-79 victory over still winless Zalgiris Kaunas on Friday night. ALBA dominated the early stages and led by 13 points in the first quarter. Zalgiris tried to respond but could never take the lead, and ALBA enjoyed several double-digit advantages in the third quarter. The home team kept competing but never got close enough to seriously threaten the visitor’s victory. Marcus Eriksson led ALBA with 16 points, while Oscar Da Silva added 15. Luke Sikma had 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals, and Ben Lammers scored 10. Tyler Cavanaugh led the resistance for Zalgiris with 17 points, while Janis Strelnieks hit four triples in his tally of 16 points, and Lukas Lekavicius added 11. ALBA improves to 3-5, while Zalgiris is still waiting for its first win at 0-8.

Olympiacos Piraeus 86-65 AS Monaco

Olympiacos Piraeus stayed perfect at home and seized a share of second place by turning back visiting AS Monaco with a resounding 86-65 victory on Friday. After eight rounds of play, Olympiacos has a 6-2 record, with all its victories at home. Monaco fell to 4-4. Olympiacos trailed by 12 points, 17-29, early in the second quarter and by 35-41 on the first shot after halftime, but overwhelmed Monaco by 51-24 the rest of the way. Tyler Dorsey and Livio Jean-Charles with 18 points each. Kostas Papanikolaou and Thomas Walkup followed with 11 each, and Sasha Vezenkov combined his 10 points with as many rebounds for a double-double. Monaco got 12 points from Alpha Diallo and 11 each from Danilo Andjusic and Donta Hall, but after scoring 27 points in the first quarter, managed just 38 the rest of the way as the Olympiacos defense shut the door on the visitors.

Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 69-87 Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv extended its winning streak to five games with a strong defensive performance in a 69-87 victory against Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz at Buesa Arena. Maccabi was already ahead by nine points after three quarters but put the game away for good with a 2-13 surge in the final frame for a 6-2 record. Derrick Williams paced Maccabi with 21 points while his low post partners Jalen Reynolds and Ante Zizic flexed their muscles with 16 points apiece. Keenan Evans collected 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists, and James Nunnally had 12 points. Baskonia has now dropped three in a row for a 3-5 record despite Wade Baldwin tallying 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Simone Fontecchio and Matt Costello both scored 13 points, and Landry Nnoko chipped in 10 points in the loss.

FC Bayern Munich 76-80 Real Madrid

Real Madrid scored the last 8 points of the game to pull out a hard-fought 76-80 road victory at FC Bayern Munich on Friday night. The victory improved Real to 6-2, while Bayern had its three-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 3-5 on the season. Real controlled things in the first half and held an 11-point halftime lead, but Bayern rallied after the break and eventually went in front. The hosts were up 76-72 with 2:13 to go, but Real – playing without Walter Tavares and Vincent Poirier, who both fouled out – found a way to finish the game on a 0-8 run and snatch a win. Guerschon Yabusele led Real with 21 points, and Sergio Llull was the only other Real player in double figures with 10. Augustine Rubit had 20 points and 5 assists for Bayern. Darrun Hilliard netted 16 points, DeShaun Thomas scored 11, while Corey Walden and Othello Hunter scored 10 apiece in the loss.