By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Chris Jones and Marcos Knight scored 19 points apiece and ASVEL Villeurbanne beat AS Monaco 68 – 85 on the road to reclaim homecourt advantage and force a decisive Game 5 in the French Jeep Elite League Finals.
Mike James’ 34 points weren’t enough for Monaco that was without big man Donta Hall. The hosts trailed by double figures in the larger part of the game and fell behind even by 25 points halfway through the third period.
ASVEL was up 44 – 65 with seven minutes to play when Monaco scored 20 quick points and approached 64 – 75 after consecutive triples by James. Elie Okobo and Knight put the visiting side up by 14, 66 – 80, with 1:10 remaining to shut down all comeback hopes of their opponents.
Okobo finished with 11 points plus five assists while William Howard added 10 points and seven rebounds for ASVEL. Dwayne Bacon (10 points) was the only Monaco player to score in double figures apart from James.