By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Mike James capped a night in which he went joint second in the all-time Turkish Airlines EuroLeague scoring list by putting in an MVP of the Round performance as AS Monaco beat Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 85-70 in Round 24.
He finished with a 31 PIR, the most of any winning player in this round, after another excellent display for his team. He scored 19 points, going 3-of-6 on two-pointers, 2-of-6 from deep, and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line, in addition to grabbing 5 rebounds – including 2 on the offensive end – and dishing 7 assists.
Notably, James didn’t commit a single turnover. The 33-year-old drew 9 fouls, too. This is his 11th MVP of the Round award and his first this season.
The best PIR mark in Round 24 belonged to Codi Miller-McIntyre of Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, but it came in a loss as his team fell 112-109 in overtime at FC Bayern Munich. Miller-McIntyre had a career-best 39 PIR after having a monster game in which he tied his personal best in points with 20 and dished a career-high 15 assists. He also had 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and 6 fouls drawn.
In third place is Partizan’s Kevin Punter, who had a 31 PIR in defeat at Monaco. The forward posted a season-high 28 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 8 fouls drawn.
Isaiah Canaan of Olympiacos Piraeus in the fourth spot had a career-best PIR of 30 as his team beat ALBA Berlin 101-87. Canaan also had a personal-best 31 points after making a career-high 9 three-pointers, which is 1 off tying the EuroLeague record. He amassed 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, too.
Rounding out the list of top performers in Round 24 is Real Madrid center Vincent Poirier, who had 16 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 blocks and 2 fouls drawn in a 106-101 triumph over Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.