Bayern rallies past Partizan for second Top 16 win

FC Bayern Munich remained undefeated in Top 16 Group F by rallying to edge Partizan NIS Belgrade 71-65 at home on Thursday. Bayern improved to 2-0 in Group F, while Partizan dropped to 0-2. John Bryant paced the winners with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Deon Thompson also posted a double-double of 15 points and 10 boards, helping Bayern outrebound Partizan 47-39. Malcolm Delaney had 12 points and 5 assists for Bayern. Bogdan Bogdanovic led Partizan with 24 points. Tarence Kinsey added 20 while Joffrey Lauvergne had 11 for the guests. A three-point play by Thompson gave Bayern a 12-9 edge midway through the first quarter. An outstanding Kinsey and a three-pointer by Bogdanovic gave Partizan a 17-20 edge after 10 minutes. Kinsey and Lauvergne shined throughout the second quarter and consecutive triples by a red-hot Bogdanovic boosted the guests' lead to 34-42 at halftime. A free throw by Dejan Musli gave Partizan its biggest lead, 38-52, soon after the break. Bryant and Yassin Idbihi ignited Bayern's comeback and 5 unanswered points by Delaney gave the hosts a 61-59 lead with six minutes left. Bogdanovic kept Partizan within 66-65, but a layup by Bryant and a three-pointer by Heiko Schaffartzik sealed the outcome, 71-65, as the guests never recovered.

First quarter: Bayern uses high-low to take lead, Bogdanovic answers with threes

Bayern coach Svetislav Pesic started the same first five with Delaney, Bryce Taylor, Lucca Staiger, Thompson and Bryant. Partizan’s Velimir Gasic made one change with Mihajlo Andric playing alongside Bogdanovic, Dragan Milosavljevic, Lauvergne and Nikola Milutinov. Bayern started the game using the high-low effectively with Bryant feeding Thompson for a dunk and then for a layup on either side of Lauvergne’s three-pointer. Thompson fed Bryant for an easy layup and a Staiger triple had Munich up 9-3 early on. After Milutinov and Lauvergne scored to even the game at 9-9, Thompson grabbed his third offensive rebound and converted a three-point play to make it 12-9. Bogdanovic answered with a three-ball and Kinsey scored four straight points on two free throws and a putback after Robin Benzing had blocked Bogdanovic’s shot to give Partizan its first lead at 14-16. Bayern regained the lead 17-16 on a Yassin Idbihi jumper but it was knotted again after one Djordje Gagic free throw and Belgrade was leading 17-20 after one quarter thanks to Bogdanovic’s trey from the left corner.

Second quarter: Bogdanovic’s shooting extends Partizan lead

Partizan extended the lead to 17-24 on a corner jumper by Gagic and a Kinsey offensive rebound put back to start the second quarter. Benzing’s two free throws got Bayern on the board in the second quarter and a Staiger long ball trimmed the gap to 22-26. A Kinsey jumper pushed the margin to 22-28. After Bryant free throws, Milenko Tepic found Lauvergne for an easy layup and then the Bogdanovic show started. He knocked down two jumpers in extending the lead to 29-36. Schaffartzik drained a trey for Bayern but Bogdanovic nailed two more long balls on either side of a Thompson dunk to give Partizan a 34-42 advantage at intermission.

Third quarter: Hot Kinsey start answered by Bryant, Delaney

Pesic kept Bryant and Delaney on the bench to start the second half and Munich struggled to get any offensive production. Luckily Partizan couldn’t score much either as Kinsey scored the first points of the half at the 7:33 minute mark. His next jumper pushed the advantage to 34-46. Bayern finally scored on a Bryant jumper with 6:10 left in the third quarter. Kinsey hit another jumper and then converted a three-point play to extend the Partizan cushion to 38-51. And it was 38-52 after a Musli free throw. Munich pushed the ball into the paint with Thompson scoring inside and Bryant hitting twice from close range to bring Bayern within 44-52. Kinsey’s free throws stopped the run initially but Delaney made two foul shots and Schaffartzik and Delaney both nailed long balls in the final minute to bring Munich within 52-56 after three quarters.

Fourth quarter: Tough Bayern defense too much despite Bogdanovic efforts

Bogdanovc opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a free throw and his driving layup pushed Partizan ahead 54-59. Idbihi scored inside and then Delaney evened the game at 59-59 on a three-pointer. Delaney’s bank shot off the glass gave Bayern the lead 61-59. Kinsey split two free throws after a technical foul on Munich coach Pesic to make it 61-60. It was 64-60 after a Staiger trey from the left corner with four minutes to play. Bogdanovic finally got another basket for Belgrade with a tough turn-around jumper to make it 64-62. Bogdanovic on Partizan’s next trip down nailed a three-pointer to cut the margin to 66-65. But Bayern rushed back and Bryant scored to make it a three-point game 68-65 with two minutes left. Thompson could not score over Bogdanovic but Staiger grabbed the offensive rebound and the ball landed in the right corner with Schaffartzik, who nailed a three-ball to extend the lead to 71-65 with 46 seconds to play. Milosavljevic missed a three attempt at the other end and Kinsey’s missed long ball attempt with 8 seconds to play secured the Munich win.