Euroleague: Nanterre beats Barça at home

Euroleague

Picking up their first ever Euroleague win, especially on the road against one of the best teams in the league, FC Barcelona, is cause for celebration for JSF Nanterre.

At the end of the 2012-13 season JSF Nanterre surprised a lot of people when they defeated the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 ranked teams in the French ProA playoffs to be named “Champion de France 2013” and get an invite to play in the Euroleague for the 2013-14 season. At the start of the this season, the club that ascended to ProA just three seasons ago, then won the French ProA Championship and ascended to the Euroleague for the first time in club history, defeated one of the premier basketball clubs anywhere, on their home court. The Nanterrians earned their first Euroleague victory against powerhouse FC Barcelona Regal, who hadn’t lost to a French team since the late 1990’s, at the Palau Blaugrana after taking the lead for good with seven seconds to play on a lay-up by Je’Kel Foster. Barça floor leader Juan Carlos Navarro had a shot at snatching the dream win from the French club, but he came up empty as the buzzer sounded.

In other contests on Thursday Budivelnik Kiev became the first club from Ukraine to win a game in Euroleague when they defeated Partizan NIS Belgrade 74:69 at home, Fenerbahce Ulker kept their undefeated season intact with a 26-point pounding of CSKA Moscow, 86:60, Zalgiris Kaunas beat up Strasbourg 88:64, Olympiacos Piraeus stayed perfect on the season by outlasting FC Bayern Munich 88:83, and Unicaja Malaga put up 27 on Galatasaray Liv Hospital, 84:57.

Group A
FC Barcelona Regal – JSF Nanterre, 67:71
Around the basketball community the shockwaves were felt as the Euroleague newcomers JSF Nanterre traveled to Barcelona and left with a four-point win. The victory was Nanterre’s first ever Euroleague win and improves their record to 1-2, which ties them for third place in Group A with Partizan, Budivelnik, and Barça. Deshaun Thomas led the Nanterrian effort with 14 points and 7 rebounds, while Alejandro Abrines was game-high for Regal with 15. Of the five games played in the Euroleague on Thursday, the only win from a visiting team came from Nanterre.

Barcelona took the first quarter by getting out to a 25:15 lead after a 14:0 run late in the frame. The hosts stayed up by double digits into the mid-point of the second, but Nanterre went on a 2:10 run to close the gap to three, 35:32. At the half the gap reduced to two, 39:37.

The guests found themselves down by seven 44:37 shortly after the second half started, but Nanterre countered and pulled to within four. A 9:2 run by Barça put the Spanish club back in front by 11, by the end of the third 10 the hosts held a nine-point advantage, 60:51.

As the final frame began, neither club would find the bottom of the net for nearly four minutes and then the first five points went to the guests. Kostas Papanikolaou broke the Barça drought when he split a pair of singles, but Thomas knocked down a triple to pull the French side to within a deuce, 61:59. A Sergii Gladyr dunk knotted the contest at 63 with just over four minutes to play. After a Meacham dunk and an Ante Tomic lay-up tied the score again, it was nearly two minutes before either team would score again when Jeremy Nzeulie connected on a pair of free throws to put the guests up by two, 65:67. With 28.8 seconds to play Victor Sada was fouled by Johan Passave after Sada stole the ball from Meacham. Sada dropped the two charity tosses in to draw Barça even again, this time at 67. After a timeout to put some strategy together, Foster was able to connect on a lay-up to put Nanterre up by two with seven seconds to play. The hosts put a play together, got the ball to Navarro for the final shot, but he came up empty giving the Nanterrians their first Euroleague win in dramatic fashion.

Thomas’s 14 led Nanterre, Gladyr added 12, Will Daniels scored 11, and Meacham contributed 10.

Abrines was game-high with 15 for Barcelona, and Maciej Lampe scored 11.

Fenerbahce Ulker – CSKA Moscow, 86:60
Fenerbahce Ulker stayed at the top of Group A with an undefeated record after another win at home, this time a 26-point victory over CSKA Moscow, 86:60. Bojan Bogdanovic was game-high for Ulker with 23.

The hosts lead this important contest in Group A from the opening tip to the final buzzer and dropped CSKA to 2-1 and in second in the group.

Fenerbahce started quick, getting out to a 9:2 advantage before three minutes had ticked off the game clock. They drove the margin to 10 when Linas Kleiza knocked down a three-ball at the buzzer to go up 25:15. Kyle Hines scored 10 in the first frame for CSKA.

An 11-point run by Ulker put the hosts up by 22, but a similar run by the guests helped pull them back into the game as they were able get back within 11, 33:22, as the first half ended.

The hosts were able to add another four to the margin in the third to set up the fourth with the score 61:47. In the fourth Fenerbahce found it’s shooting range and started pulling away, outscoring CSKA 24:13 in the final frame to put together the largest victory on the Euroleague books for the night.

Bogdanovic was game-high with 23 for Ulker, Bo McCalebb scored 14, Emir Preldzic added 13, and Kleiza dropped in 12.

Vladimir Micov scored 20 for CSKA, and Hines added 17.

Budivelnik Kiev – Partizan NIS Belgrade, 74:69
Budivelnik Kiev got their first win in Group A, which also turned out to be their first win of their Euroleague history. With the win Budivelnik goes to 1-2 on the season, a record they now share with Partizan.

Darjus Lavrinovic was game-high for Budivelnik with 22 points, 8 rebounds, and a PIR of 31, while Tarence Kinsey led Partizan with 16.

The clubs fought to a 17-all tie after the first after a buzzer beater by Kinsey, then Partizan took a two-point advantage into the dressing rooms at the break when they outscored their guests 27:25 in the second as DaJuan Summers rattled the backboard just before the horn to give his club the advantage.

Budivelnik built a six-point margin in the third, but Partizan countered and finished strong to take a 52:53 lead into the fourth. The hosts slowly grew their advantage, getting up by seven with six minutes to play. Partizan wouldn’t give up though and they pulled to within two, 64:62. From there the hosts hit the next six unanswered to get up 70:62. Partizan did get to within four again, but Budivelnik hit their free throws down the stretch and wouldn’t let them get any closer to close out their first win.

Lavrinovic led the field with 22, Summers added 15, and Ricky Minard scored 10. Kinsey paced the guests with 16, Dragan Milosavljevic and Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 15 each.

Euroleague

Group B
Zalgiris Kaunas – Strasbourg, 88:64
Zalgiris Kaunas dropped from the ranks of the winless in Euroleague play with an big 88:64 win over Strasbourg, who does remain winless.

The hosts made the difference about the three-point line, connecting on 14 of 22 (63.6%) as compared to 6 of 19 (31.6%) for Strasbourg. Zalgiris also out rebounded their guests 40 to 23.

They kept the game close in the first frame with the hosts getting up by three, 19:16, but extending their lead to nine at the end of the first half, 44:35. Zalgiris broke the game open in the third by putting up 10 on Strasbourg giving the locals a 19-point cushion heading into the final quarter, 70:51. In the fourth they extended the lead to 24 with an 18:13 quarter, giving the hosts their first win on the season.

Martynas Pocius was game-high with 23 for Zalgiris, Justin Dentmon added 15, and Sarunas Jasikevicius dropped in 13.

Alexis Ajinca scored 21 for Strasbourg, Jeremy Leloup scored 12, and Louis Campbell tallied 10.

Group C
Unicaja Malaga – Galatasaray Liv Hospital, 84:57
Unicaja used a 43:15 second half over Galatasaray to improve to 2-1 on the season, while the Turkish club fell to 1-2.

The hosts took an eight-point advantage in the first 10, outscoring Galatasaray 20:12, but the guests took a one-point lead into the mid-game break with a 21:30 second quarter to put the score at the half at 41:42.

In the third Unicaja put some distance between the clubs with a 20:8 frame to go up 61:50 heading into the fourth. A 14:0 run in the final frame iced the contest for the locals as they wrapped up their second win with a 23:7 tally to record a 27-point win at 84:57.

Nik Caner-Medley was game-high for Unicaja with 16 points, Early Calloway added 13, Fran Vazquez and Zoran Dragic scored 10 each.

Jamont Gordon led a trio of Galatasaray that turned in double-doubles or close to it when he scored 12 and dished of 10 assists. Milan Macvan knocked down 11 points and hauled in 9 rebounds, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu contributed an 10P/11R double-double.

Olympiacos Piraeus – FC Bayern Munich, 88:83
Olympiacos stayed undefeated with an 88:83 win over previously unbeaten FC Bayern Munich, who falls to 2-1 and in second place in the group. Six members of the Olympiacos squad tallied in double figures with Bryant Dunston leading the way with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and a PIR of 33. Only four Munich players got into double figures, but Malcolm Delaney’s 20 points was game-high for Bayern.

The reigning Euroleague champions got out to the early lead putting up five on the Munich squad in a 25:20 first frame. In the second the locals extended the margin to eight, 47:39, at the half.

Olympiacos used the better part of the third 10 to extend their advantage to 15, 66:51, but Bayern went on a scoring run, knocking down 15 unanswered to knot the score at 66. As the fourth period started Bayern got the first two to take the lead and extend the run to 17. The guests got up by five, 71:76, with five minutes left to play, but the next time Munich would score would be after Olympiacos tallied 12 unanswered to get up 83:76. with just under a minute left to play. Heiko Schaffartzik knocked down a triple for Bayern and then Evangelos Mantzaris missed a pair of free throws for the hosts. After grabbing the offensive rebound Georgios Printezis was fouled and also missed on a pair of freebies. A three-point play on the Bayern end cut the gap to one, 83:82. After a series of free throws on each end of the court Olympiacos held an 86:83 lead with 9.8 seconds to play. The guests got an open look from behind the arc to potentially tie things up, but Delaney’s triple was off the mark. Printezis closed out the contest at the line connecting on a pair of singles to give Olympiacos an 88:83 win to stay at the top of the group at 3-0.

Dunston led Olympiacos with 19 points and 8 rebounds, Matthew Lojeski added 17 points, Printezis turned in a 13P/12R double-double. Delaney was game-high with 20 for Bayern, Nihad Djedovic scored 13, Bryce Taylor added 11.

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