ALBA Berlin (6-11) put an end to their three-game losing streak at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, beating the visiting AS Monaco (6-11) 92-83 (21-19, 17-9, 29-26, 23-27).
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
20
|
| Ben Lammers | |
| Points | 18 |
| Accuracy | 6-8 |
| Rebounds | 3 |
| Assists | 0 |
Paris Lee started the fourth quarter with eight consecutive points, Will Thomas added four more, and ALBA's lead was down to two (74-76). But Yovel Zoosman and Maodo Lo responded on the other end, giving ALBA an eight-point advantage (86-78).
Mike James' 3-pointer cut Monaco's deficit to five with 1:09 remaining (83-88), but Marcus Eriksson nailed both free throws and Sikma scored two more points to put the game out of reach. ALBA ended up winning it by nine.
Ben Lammers led ALBA with 18 points (5/7 2PT, 1/1 3PT, 5/5 FT), 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers, and 20 PIR.
"I think we brought a lot of energy," Lammers said post-game. "They are a good team, Mike James just started making a bunch of shots, that is always dangerous, but we were able to stay calm and pull it out. The whole fun of the EuroLeague is that you get to play against really talented players [like D. Motiejunas] every day, so that was a good time."
Motiejunas dominated in the first period, finishing it with 14 points (5/7 2PT, 1/1 3PT, 1/1 FT) and collecting 15 PIR. He helped Monaco to an early 10-2 lead, but ALBA retaliated, tying the game at 15 and going into the second quarter with a two-point lead.
ALBA stayed hot in the second while also locking down Monaco on the defensive end. They only allowed the visitors to score nine points in the quarter and gained their first double-digit lead after a last-second buzzer-beater by Ben Lammers (40-30).
Luke Sikma converted his first field goal of the night in the third period (51-41). Mike James and Motiejunas helped Monaco cut their deficit to five (46-51). But then, Oscar da Silva and Marcus Eriksson responded, and ALBA went into the fourth with a 13-point advantage (69-56).
After missing last week's contest against Zenit St. Petersburg, Paris Lee returned to the lineup for Monaco. Rob Gray, Jerry Boutsiele, and Leo Westermann were not available tonight.
On the opposing side, Luke Sikma, Jaleen Smith, and Louis Olinde returned to action for ALBA. However, they did not have Christ Koumadje on the squad.
"I think the game was a matter of energy," ALBA head coach Israel Gonzales said. "Both teams played with low energy, they might be tired from last week and all the game. I feel we made a push little more than them, running fast breaks, and I think that was the key because we could make some easy baskets on fastbreaks."
Mike James and Donatas Motiejunas were the leaders for Monaco. James ended with 25 points (10/11 2PT, 1/6 3PT, 2/3 FT), 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 turnovers, and 31 PIR.
Motiejunas added 23 points (9/12 2PT, 1/1 3PT, 2/3 FT), 2 rebounds, and 21 PIR.
ALBA: Ben Lammers 18, Marcus Eriksson 15, Maodo Lo 12 (5 AST), Jaleen Smith 10, Yovel Zoosman 9 (5 REB), Luke Sikma 8 (8 REB, 7 AST), Oscar da Silva 7.
Monaco: Mike James 25 (8 AST), Donatas Motiejunas 23, Alpha Diallo 10 (6 REB, 6 AST), Paris Lee 10.
Highlights:
Subscribe to BN+ and get access to exclusive content.
