By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Kevin Punter was ready for his duel with Mike James and ultimately got the win, even if Partizan needed five extra minutes to prevail 89-85 over Monaco.
Punter had a big night with 25 points, and James Nunnally added 23 points for the winning side which got also help from PJ Dozier (15 p.) and Bruno Caboclo.
“We fought, that’s the key to our victory”, said Punter after the final buzzer.
For the losing side, Mike James scored 16 points having eight rebounds and eight assists, while Donatas Motiejunas had a big night on the offensive end with 23 points.
“I want to thank my players for the fight, Mike James took two incredible shots and sent the game to overtime, however our fans helped us and we won”, stated Partizan coach Zeljko Obradovic.
The winners are now tied at 6-6 with Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, Efes, and Bayern Munich, while Monaco is just over them at 7-5.
An ending to remember
In a close game from wire to wire in which neither team managed to lead not even once by double digits, Monaco managed to tie the score at 72, thanks to two threes by James, despite trailing 70-66 with 22 seconds left.
“He made a great shot, shoutout to him, but we executed late, we got some stops and it worked out great for us”, said Nunally.
With two seconds on the clock, Punter couldn’t win the game, but on the other hand, he couldn’t be denied in overtime.
Still with the score 82-78 in favor of Partizan, Monaco answered with a 5-0 run (83-82) with James making a free throw and the duo of John Brown and Jordan Loyd making big buckets.
Dozier gave Partizan the lead again (84-83) with one minute left. Monaco couldn’t score after that, Donatas Motiejunas was called for an unsportsmanlike foul with 10 seconds left to Alen Smaigalic, and the game was decided.
James stole the ball, and Motiejunas scored but with just one second on the clock, Monaco didn’t have any chance.
Jordan Loyd tried to steal the ball, but he fouled Zach Leday who according to refs elbowed Loyd unintentionally while he was out of balance and Nunnaly with two free throws after getting fouled too, pushed the final difference to four points.
“We had a chance, it was a great game to watch but unfortunately we lost”, added Monaco coach Sasha Obradovic.
Photo credit: EuroLeague