Maccabi Tel Aviv continued its strong form and celebrated a historic away win against Partizan in Belgrade. At the same time, AS Monaco held its own in a high-class duel against Real Madrid and stood its ground despite a spectacular comeback.
Fifth win in a row: Maccabi rolls over Partizan
Maccabi Tel Aviv celebrated its most decisive victory of the current EuroLeague season in Belgrade, rolling over Partizan after falling behind early. After the hosts led 28-17 in the first quarter, Maccabi increasingly took control and completely turned the game around before the break. The game was finally decided in the third quarter, with the lead at times reaching 36 points in the final quarter. For Partizan, the evening was historically negative: with the defeat, the club conceded the most points ever in the EuroLeague, just one week after their already heavy defeat in Kaunas. He was supported by Roman Sorkin (17 points, 6 rebounds), TJ Leaf (14 points, 6 rebounds) and O’Shae Brissett (11 points), while a total of five Maccabi players scored in double figures. On the home side, new signing Cam Payne made his mark, at least at the beginning, scoring 12 of his 15 points in the first quarter. Sterling Brown also scored 12 points, but was unable to prevent his team’s significant slump. Isaac Bonga contributed 10 points (4 rebounds).
Incredible comeback not enough: Monaco defeats Real Madrid
AS Monaco defeated Real Madrid 100-95 in France on Friday evening, defying a strong comeback led by Facundo Campazzo. The Argentine scored 24 of his 28 points after the break, including 14 in the final 1:40 minutes, to bring the visitors back within striking distance. The key for Monaco was the balance in the backcourt: Elie Okobo, Mike James, Matthew Strazel, and Nemanja Nedovic combined for 61 percent of the points and kept the hosts on track.
Okobo was Monaco’s top scorer with 22 points, James contributed 15 points, Strazel and Nedovic 12 each. The scoring was complemented by Alpha Diallo (11) and Nikola Mirotic (10). Daniel Theis had 8 points (7 rebounds). On the Madrid side, Edy Tavares had a strong first half with 15 points and 7 rebounds in the first quarter, but was later slowed down by foul trouble and finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds overall. After the win, Monaco and Real Madrid are now both 10-7.