By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Paris Basketball captured its third straight EuroLeague win by downing Baskonia 67 – 65 at home. The Basque side dropped at 4-3 after shooting an abysmal 1-26 on triples.
It was overall one of the least productive games this season. It’s telling that no Paris player scored in double figures, as TJ Shorts scored 9 points on 4-21 shots while dishing out five assists, and Tyson Ward dropped 9 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Baskonia forward Chima Moneke was one of the few standout players in the game, individual performance-wise, with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Donta Hall contributed 11 points plus eight rebounds for Baskonia but the team couldn’t have hoped for much, shooting the ball so badly.
It wasn’t as if Paris was exceptional in its shooting. Tiago Splitter’s players finished with 15 – 45 on 2-pointers and 9 – 27 on threes but that was enough for the victory.
More than three-pointers
Everyone expected Paris to come out at home shooting at will, but the defense made the difference in the first half. Moneke had 11 points during that stretch.
After a close first period (18-16) the hosts got a 15-6 partial score and managed to lead by 11 points (33-22). Baskonia reacted with an 11-2 run (35-33) and the halftime score was 38-35.
Moneke finished the half with 11 points.
Paris went on to grab a 59 – 51 advantage early in the fourth period that, as coach Tiago Splitter admitted, acted as a safety cushion. Baskonia tried to come back but never managed to get at a shooting distance until the very last play of the game.