By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Alpha Diallo scored a season-high 21 points on 7-9 shots to lead AS Monaco past Bayern Munich 89 – 85 in the last round of the EuroLeague regular season. Thanks to this win over their already-eliminated opponents, the Monegasque side clinched homecourt advantage in the playoffs.
Diallo also delivered a key play in crunch time when he grabbed the offensive rebound and dunked the ball to put Monaco up 86 – 82 with 54 seconds remaining. Mike James made it 88 – 82 and hit one free throw in the last moments that was more than enough for his team to secure the win.
“Bayern is a really good team. They are really well-coached and so we knew we had to play a 40-minute game to beat them,” Diallo said. “We kept it a little close and interesting but we came out with the win and secured the homecourt advantage. That was the goal for us at the beginning of the season. Something to be proud of and happy but we got a long way to go.”
James finished with 17 points and a season-tying 12 assists for a Monaco team that led even by 24 points, 54 – 30 early in the second half, before a major comeback by Bayern. The German squad closed the third period with a 0 – 11 run to approach 70 – 58 and kept trimming the margin as Devin Booker put them at a shooting distance at 81 – 70 with 2:09 remaining.
“We played three games in six days,” Monaco coach Sasa Obradovic said on his team giving up a 24-point lead. “But honestly, for me, it doesn’t matter. We won the game. We had an amazing regular season. So we’re happy with this. We should be happy with this. But now, a new competition starts and we shouldn’t have ups and downs like today. I have to congratulate my team, my staff and the whole organization for a great EuroLeague season until this moment.”
Carsen Edwards produced 32 points on 6-8 triples for Bayern while Sylvain Francisco scored 17. Their team completed the regular season in the 15th place with a 13 – 21 record.
“First have was what it was. We couldn’t make shots and we turned the ball over,” Bayern coach Pablo Laso said. “We executed better in the second half, we hit open jumpers and didn’t turn the ball over so we got back in the game. At the end, some decisions weren’t right and we couldn’t execute the way we wanted. But you have to give them credit and good luck in the playoffs.”