With Isaiah Canaan being unstoppable and scoring a season-high 20 points (6/9 from beyond the arc), Olympiacos crushed Fenerbahce at Ulker Sports Arena (73-93) and stayed on top of the EuroLeague standings (15-7).
The “Reds” were dominant on both ends from the opening tip and led by as many as 30 points in the contest (16-46), cruising to an easy road win. Meanwhile, the Turks couldn’t come closer than 13 points (66-79) and suffered a blowout home loss.
Fenerbahce fell to 13-9, whereas Isaiah Canaan, who also tied his career-high in 3-pointers (6/9), and Olympiacos swept the EuroLeague season series with the Turks and now have the tiebreaker (2-0).
At Mediolanum Forum, Armani Milano got back on track and rallied past Baskonia (89-83), snapping a five-game losing skid.
With Shabazz Napier making his EuroLeague debut (10 points, 3/5 shooting, 3 assists, 19 minutes), the Italians stood tall and claimed a big home win, with Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (17 points) and Johannes Voigtmann (16 points) combining for 33 points.
Armani still remains far away from the playoff zone and it is highly unlikely they will make it to the postseason (7-15). On the other hand, the Basques (12-10) missed a great chance of maintaining a Top-4 push.
In a crucial game for both sides at La Fonteta, Valencia rallied past Bayern Munich (83-72) and now holds the final playoff spot.
A 17-2 run in the fourth quarter gave the hosts a double-digit lead and the Bavarians never recovered, suffering their 13th loss this season (9-13). Meanwhile, Valencia has now won five straight games and has emerged as a legit playoff contender (12-10).
At Stark Arena, Partizan continued its solid run at home and decimated ASVEL Villeurbanne (92-71) and stayed just one win away from the playoff zone (11-11).
The Serbians closed the first half in front by 14 (50-36) and led by as many as 29 (75-46) en route to an easy home win. Partizan is 8-3 at home and 3-8 on the road. On the other hand, ASVEL fell to 8-14 and remained on the brink of elimination.
At “Palau Blaugrana”, Maccabi Tel-Aviv came very close to a big road win, but Barcelona closed the game in a perfect way to claim the victory (83-78).
The Israelis led by 10 points late in the third (57-67) and went on a 26-11 run to seal the deal and stay just a win away from the top (14-8). On the contrary, Maccabi fell to 11-11 and has now lost four straight on the road and is 2-10 away from home.
In Bologna, Virtus set a club assist record (28) and rallied past Crvena Zvezda to keep its playoff chances alive (84-72).
The Italians led by 14 after the first quarter (30-14) and never looked back. Despite a comeback attempt by Zvezda (48-35), Virtus maintained its momentum and closed the third quarter in front by 19 (70-51) to cruise to the win.
Both teams now have identical records (10-12), being just two wins away from the EuroLeague playoff zone.
