Greece's champion suffers narrow defeat in thrilling EuroLeague clash

After two consecutive wins against Maccabi Tel Aviv and Bayern Munich, Olympiacos suffered a defeat similar to last year, losing 92-87 to Monaco at SEF.

The “revenge” the Reds sought for their semifinal loss in Abu Dhabi last May did not materialize in Round 7, with Vassilis Spanoulis once again hurting the team he had captained before fully dedicating himself to coaching, CE Report quotes ANA-MPA.

Monaco returned to winning ways after their loss to Hapoel Tel Aviv, bringing their record level with Olympiacos at 4 wins and 3 losses.

Olympiacos’ key players were Alpha Diallo (27 points with 3/4 three-pointers, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Mike James (23 points with 3/6 three-pointers and 10 assists).

With Monaco hitting 10/24 from three-point range and Olympiacos only 4/22, it was impossible for Giorgos Bartzokas’ team to win in a game where the lead changed constantly and was decided in the final moments, even though the Piraeus team had 10 more rebounds. Olympiacos conceded 55 points in the second half after allowing 37 in the first.

Tyler Dorsey did everything he could to secure a win for Olympiacos but missed a crucial free throw following a foul at the end. Dorsey finished with 23 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds. Sasha Vezenkov contributed 17 points and 6 rebounds, Milutinov had 14 points and 8 rebounds, and Donta Hall added 11 points and 5 rebounds.

Top Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic was present at SEF.

Quarter scores: 20-16, 38-37, 60-64, 87-92

Olympiacos started with Walkup, Ntilikina, Ward, Vezenkov, and Hall, while Monaco’s coach Vassilis Spanoulis chose Strazel, James, Diallo, Blossomgame, and Tice. Monaco’s aggressive defense from the first second allowed them to take an early 8-1 lead. Olympiacos initially scored only from free throws (3-8), with Walkup making the first field goal after 4 minutes (5-8). Fournier and Vezenkov gave Olympiacos a slight lead (9-8), but Monaco responded through Diallo, Blossomgame, and Hayes (15-16). Olympiacos then went on a 5-0 run with Ntilikina’s two-pointer and Vezenkov’s three-pointer to lead 20-16 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Olympiacos started with Ntilikina, McKissic, Ward, Vezenkov, and Hall. Defense dominated early, and Olympiacos built an 8-point lead (30-22) thanks to 5 points from McKissic. With Blossomgame entering and scoring a three-pointer (30-25), Monaco went on a 7-0 run with Okobo and Mike James (30-29). Hall scored 3 points (33-29), but a three-pointer from Diallo and contributions from Tice and Strazel (including a technical foul on Bartzokas) put Monaco ahead (33-35). Tice fouled Milutinov (35-35), Papapnikolaou scored his first three-pointer, and Olympiacos regained the lead (38-35), only for Mike James to reduce it to 38-37 at halftime.

The third quarter started with Walkup, Dorsey, Fournier, Vezenkov, and Milutinov for Olympiacos, and James, Okobo, Diallo, Blossomgame, and Tice for Monaco. Alpha Diallo hit three points (38-40), but Milutinov scored 4 consecutive points to tie (42-42), aided by Tice for Monaco. Vezenkov’s second three-pointer brought him to 10 points (45-42), and Milutinov reached 12 points (49-46). Monaco regained the lead with Blossomgame and James hitting two big three-pointers (51-52). A technical foul against Spanoulis allowed Vezenkov to score from the free-throw line (54-52), but Monaco went on a 9-0 run with James, Blossomgame, and Diallo, pushing the score to 54-62. Tensions flared between Strazel and Dorsey, with referees calling a foul on the former and an unsportsmanlike foul on the latter. Olympiacos fought back to 60-64 by the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, three-pointers from Strazel, Okobo, and James pushed Monaco ahead by 9 points (70-79) with 4:25 remaining. James had 19 points with 3/6 from three. Olympiacos’ poor defense in the final quarter proved costly, despite Dorsey’s efforts. He initially cut the deficit to 74-81 with 4 points but Diallo’s three-pointer restored Monaco’s 10-point lead (74-84) with 3:01 left. Free throws from Tice and Diallo extended the gap to 84-89, and Dorsey’s and-one brought it to 86-89. Mirotic scored 1/2 free throws (86-90), and Dorsey’s 1/2 free throws reduced it to 87-90 before Alpha Diallo sealed the final score at 87-92.

Referees: Jovcic (Serbia), Raczic (Lithuania), Baena (Spain)

Olympiacos (Giorgos Bartzokas): Walkup 5, Ntilikina 2, Ward 4, Vezenkov 17 (2 3-pointers), Papapnikolaou 3 (1), Dorsey 23 (1), Peters 1, Milutinov 14, Hall 11, McKissic 5, Fournier 2

Monaco (Vassilis Spanoulis): Okobo 10 (2 3-pointers), Blossomgame 9 (1), Tice 9, Diallo 27 (3), Hayes 2, Tarpey -, Nedovic 4, Strazel 5 (1), Mirotic 3, James 23 (3)