By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Monaco is on the verge of returning to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four, having a solid 2-0 lead in the playoffs series against Barcelona and needing one more win.
The Monegasques prevailed in Game 2 with ease, getting the 92-79 win.
Alpha Diallo with 21 points and Mem Jaiteh on his career night with 20, combining both for 16/16 two-pointers plus 2/5 threes by Diallo, were simply unstoppable.
“Ι am very happy, it was a crucial game”, said Jaiteh after the final buzzer, “it was very important for us to get the win and remain in a good situation for what’s coming next. f we play like this defensively, then we will be good in the next game”.
Jordan Loyd added 13 points, Matthew Strazel had 12, and Elie Okobo 11 as Barcelona contained Mike James to five points plus six assists and four turnovers, and Daniel Theis (photo) to six points, but the rest of Monaco made things happen.
“We played good defense, our guards created for the rest of the team, and we controlled rebounding”, added coach Vassilis Spanoulis.
For the guests, Jabari Parker had 16 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. Kevin Punter added 14 points, while Dario Brizuela had 11 points.
Defensive clinic
Once more, the hosts set the tone early with defense being the key. Monaco led 26-19 at the end of the first period and pushed their distance to 10 points (29-19) with a three by Loyd to start the second.
Barcelona reacted and made it a four-point game (29-25), keeping close until almost the end of the quarter.
The guests still trailed by four (44-40) entering the last minute, but the halftime score was 49-44 with Jaiteh scoring and Loyd adding one more three.
However, Monaco dominated in the third period, pushing the lead to 14 points (60-46) and then to 16 (80-64) entering the last quarter after a Jaiteh dunk.
Two free throws by Strazel made the score 82-64, and then Terry Tarpey’s first bucket in the game pushed it to 86-67.
There was no coming back for Barcelona after that. The best the guests did was trim the lead to 12 (88-76) with two minutes left, but it was too little, too late.
Photo credit: EuroLeague