By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Jordan Loyd scored 19 points in his best game after recovering from injury problems and AS Monaco beat ASVEL Villeurbanne 87 – 75 for a 2-0 regular-season sweep over their French rivals.
Alpha Diallo contributed 12 points, five assists and four rebounds while Donatas Motiejunas scored 12 as well for Monaco. Donta Hall dropped 10 points and Mike James finished with 10 points (3-11 shots) plus seven assists.
“I don’t think we played our best,” Loyd said after the game. He made 7 out of 10 shots, including 3-6 3-pointers. “But these are the toughest games. And a win is a win. You always have to be happy about it but during the next stretch we’re going to need to build and pay attention to detail.”
Amine Noua (10 points, seven rebounds) and Alex Tyus (10 points, six rebounds) were the only players in double figures for ASVEL. The absence of superstar guard Nando De Colo was a blow for the visiting side that was unable to keep up with Monaco’s offense for the larger part of the game.
“We didn’t the start the game good but we were better in the second half,” ASVEL coach TJ Parker said. His team approached 67 – 63 by the end of the third period after trailing by double figures in several moments of the game but Monaco recovered and never actually felt threatened. “We have to start the game from the beginning.”
“This is the game which we are happy with winning in the end but honestly this isn’t the way we want to play,” Monaco coach Sasa Obradovic said. “We’re going to learn some lessons from this one in order to not repeat the same approach.”