By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Vassilis Spanoulis returned to his old house and got what the wanted.
Monaco beat Olympiacos 80-77 getting a very important result in the race for the home court advantage.
Mike James with 11 points, 12 assists and no turnovers had a huge game, while Jaron Blossomgame was the top scorer with 18 points and five rebounds.
“We are taking it game by game, this has been the best team in EuroLeague all year and you got to come here with the right attitude and the right energy to compete”, said James.
Monaco improved to 20-12 and remains fourth at the moment, while Olympiacos at 22-10 remains also on the top spot, but Fenerbahce (21-10) can now tie the Greeks with a win.
Sasha Vezenkov with 21 points was the top scorer of the home side.
James and Jaiteh at the end
Monaco had a great start in the game, leading 23-15 in the first quarter. However, Olympiacos turned things around with a 22-10 partial score, getting the 37-33 lead, totally changing the game momentum despite making just one three in nine attempts.
The halftime score was 37-35 for the hosts, and everything was still possible.
Olympiacos opened the third period much better than the game, jumping into a 53-44 lead after a Vezenkov three with four minutes left in the quarter.
Still, the Reds entered the last period with just a 60-58 lead, having a very slim advantage.
Τhings didn’t change much until the end with Monaco getting a 75-73 lead entering the last three minutes.
Τhat was the moment that Mike James dished two assists to Mam Jaiteh who finished them in the paint, creating a six-point cushion (79-73). Olympiacos made it a four-point game (79-75) entering the last minute, but couldn’t get into stricking distance.
Photo credit: Eurokinissi