By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Mike James and Alpha Diallo dominated the floor, guiding AS Monaco Basket to a convincing 102-80 home win against Anadolu Efes in Turkish Airlines Euroleague.
James scored 27 points on a bit under 60% from the field while also dishing six assists and grabbing five rebounds. Diallo put up 19 points on 8-12 shooting along with six boards, three assists, three steals and two blocks. They logged 33 and 31 PIR respectively.
Monaco established control already in the first quarter and it didn’t take long to create a double-digit gap, going to the break with a 49-38 lead., which reached as much as 24 in the last period (92-68). Turnovers, and lack of control in the paint, were had the biggest impact on the downfall of Efes.
“We were really dominating from the first minute until the end. It was a great game by everybody. The togetherness, even now, is improving each day. You could see it in this game. I hope first of all that we can stay healthy and continue with the same attitude and have that for every game. It’s not easy but we are always finding the right chemistry to win the games,” Sasa Obradovic said.
For the losing team, Vasilije Micic channeled his reigning MVP mode and banked in 25 points on 8-14 shooting while also handing out eight assists. Rodrigue Beaubois scored 13 and Bryant Dunston 12 points.
With this win, Monaco improved to 11-13, continuing the race with Crvena Zvezda (11-12) and Maccabi Tel Aviv (11-11) at the bottom of the playoff zone. meanwhile, Efes (12-10) is in front of them together with Bayern (12-10).
Not only did Monaco get the win but the French team also secured a tiebreaker, overcoming the 21-point loss earlier in the season. Coach Obradovic was very happy with the fact.
“If somebody told me before the game that we will be attacking the 21-point loss from Istanbul I would have never believed it. But we did a great job – maybe the best game we played so far. I’m happy for the guys, happy for these people. Let’s go, we’re still dreaming of the top eight. This win will help us a lot.”