Milan and ASVEL climb in Euroleague standings
History was made on several courts across the continent on Thursday of Round 8. Milan settled into first place after seeing off Barcelona in a top-of-the-standings showdown. Right behind is ASVEL, which won its third in a row behind a career-high 25 points from Chris Jones. Crvena Zvezda handed Panathinaikos its worst defeat since the turn of the century. And Fenerbahce ended its slide with a road win at CSKA Moscow in a rematch of the 2016 championship game. Round 8 action resumes Friday with five games, including the champs hosting Zenit and Real Madrid visiting Bayern.
CSKA Moscow 82-91 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
On Thursday night, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul put its three-game losing streak to bed with an 82-91 victory over CSKA Moscow at Megasport Arena in the Russian capital. Former CSKA star Nando De Colo scored 11 of his team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter to lift Fenerbahce to its first road win and a 3-5 record on the season. CSKA fell to 4-4 with its third straight loss. Jan Vesely added 17 points and seven rebounds for the winners, Marko Guduric and Devin Booker scored 13 points apiece, and Marial Shayok had 12. Will Clyburn paced CSKA with 26 points and nine rebounds, Daniel Hackett contributed 15 points, and five assists, and Toko Shengelia scored 10 in his return from injury.
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 81-48 Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
Crvena Zvezda Belgrade ended its four-game losing streak with an overwhelming 81-48 victory against visiting Panathinaikos OPAP Athens at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall on Thursday. The visitors led 2-6 after 2 minutes of play, but with the 14-0 run that followed, Zvezda took the reins and never looked back. The 33-point final margin was the worst loss suffered by Panathinaikos in the EuroLeague this century. Zvezda’s trademark defense suffocated Panathinaikos all game long, holding the Greens to just 22 points after halftime to confirm the victory early. Nate Wolters set the tone for the winners with 18 points in 24 minutes, including Zvezda’s first 10. Austin Hollins followed with 11, and Nikola Kalinic netted ten as Zvezda’s record improved to 3-5. Panathinaikos, which dropped to 2-6, was led by Daryl Macon Jr., who posted 15 points, and Howard Sant-Roos, who chipped in 10.
AX Armani Exchange Milan 75-70 FC Barcelona
AX Armani Exchange Milan (7-1) climbed to the top of the standings by overcoming previous joint-leader FC Barcelona (6-2) with a battling 75-70 win at Mediolanum Forum. Milan started fast and was ahead throughout the first half, reaching the break with a 42-34 advantage. It stayed more or less that way during the third period before Barca fought back to take its first lead after a 0-14 run to start the final quarter. But Milan responded with its own 8-0 run, and stayed ahead the rest of the way. Luigi Datome top scored with 17 points, while Devon Hall added 16 on 4-of-5 three-point shooting. Konstantinos Mitoglou and Shavon Shields both contributed 11 points in victory. Brandon Davies paced Barcelona with 12 points, while Nikola Mirotic and Nigel Hayes-Davis both scored 10.
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 85-82 UNICS Kazan
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne held off UNICS Kazan 85-82 on Thursday night at Astroballe for the French champs’ third win in a row. Chris Jones was the catalyst with a career-high 25 points to lift ASVEL’s record to 6-2 and a share of second place in the standings. David Lighty added 19 points, and Elie Okobo had 17 for the winners, who led by as many as 12 but had to hold off a late Mario Hezonja-led rally. Hezonja finished with a career-high 27 points for UNICS. Lorenzo Brown tallied 12 points, six rebounds, seven assists, and four steals, Tonye Jekiri also scored 12, and Isaiah Canaan had 10 in defeat. The loss dropped to 3-5 on the season.