Lots of Euroleague action
Daryl Macon’s buzzer-beating three-pointer gave Panathinaikos a road win at Fenerbahce in Friday’s opener. Playoff-bound Bayern rallied to knock off Real Madrid, sending the hosts to a fourth-place finish, with Olympiacos in second and Milan third. Efes lost the chance to seal fifth place by losing at Zvezda. And Monaco waltzed past already eliminated ALBA and will now face Olympiacos in the playoffs. The final two series will be determined among Milan, Madrid, Efes, and Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, which finishes the regular season with a makeup game next Wednesday.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 59-62 Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
In a thriller that went to the final second, Panathinaikos OPAP Athens finished the Regular Season in style by rallying to edge Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 59-62 at Sinan Erdem Dome on Friday night. It was the Greens’ final EuroLeague game, finishing with a 9-19 record while Fenerbahce dropped to 10-17. Ioannis Papapetrou led the winners with 21 points. Georgios Papagiannis added 14 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks, while Daryl Macon had 12 points, including the game-winning shot with 1.0 seconds left. Jan Vesely led Fenerbahce with 20 points.
Real Madrid 88-97 FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich rallied from a 20-point third quarter deficit and defeated Real Madrid 88-97 to finish the regular season on a high and drop Real to the fourth seed for the playoffs. Bayern shook off tired legs from its third game in five days plus Real setting a EuroLeague record with 13 first-half three-pointers, putting together a 7-29 fourth-quarter run to victory. Ognjen Jaramaz scored 19 points, and Deshaun Thomas had 16 points to lead Bayern, which finishes at 14-14. Real concludes the regular season with four straight losses and an 18-10 record.
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 93-85 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Crvena Zvezda Belgrade put a brilliant end to a solid season by downing Anadolu Efes Istanbul, 93-85 in the Serbian capital. Zvezda finished the Regular Season with a 12-16 record, while Efes is 16-12 and can finish fifth or sixth – the latter if Maccabi beats Fenerbahce next week. Nikola Kalinic led the winners with 16 points, ten rebounds, and eight assists, and Shane Larkin paced Efes with 16 points. Efes led 81-82 in the latter stages, but Kalinic and Nate Wolters fueled a final 10-3 run to give Zvezda the win.
AS Monaco 91-74 ALBA Berlin
AS Monaco finished the Regular Season in style, beating visiting ALBA Berlin 91-74. Monaco, who already knew it would finish in seventh place, improved to 15-13 and learned it will face Olympiacos Piraeus in the playoffs due to Real Madrid’s loss to Bayern. ALBA finishes at 12-16. Monaco took the lead for good with an 11-0 run bridging the first and second quarter, then pulled away to a big lead early in the third before cruising to victory. Dwayne Bacon shined with 19 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes, while Christ Koumadje had 15 points plus nine rebounds for ALBA.