2014-15Top 16Round 11
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria 74
Olympiacos Piraeus 73
March 20, 2015 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 FERNANDO BUESA ARENA

James sparks Laboral Kutxa to tough win over Reds

In a game where neither team had a lead bigger than 7 points, Laboral Kutxa Vitoria edged Olympiacos Piraeus 74-73 on Friday night in Vitoria. Laboral improved to 5-6 in Top 16 Group F, where it shares fourth place with Anadolu Efes Istanbul. Mike James strung together 9 of his game-high 17 points for a 9-2 run that put Laboral up for good, 72-68 late in the fourth quarter. With 67 second remaining, Davis Bertans sank a long jumper, which turned out to be the difference in the game. Olympiacos had chances to win in the final minutes, but Laboral held on as James finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals. Bertans netted 15 and Fabien Causeur 13 points in victory. Olympiacos, which was without Vassilis Spanoulis, dropped to 8-3 and third place. Georgios Printezis collected 15 points and 7 rebounds, while Othello Hunter scored 14. Oliver Lafayette, who missed a potential game-winning triple, netted 8 in defeat.

First quarter: Bertans hits threes, but Olympiacos jumps in front

Vangelis Mantzaris scored inside to open the scoring, and after Causuer made a runner on the other end, Dunston scored from close range on consecutive possessions and Printezis finished a fastbreak with a dunk for a 2-8 lead. After a Laboral timeout, Bertans nailed a pair of triples to tie the game, but Matt Lojeski hit from downtown, too, to make it 8-11. Colton Iverson and Printezis traded baskets from close range, but Tornike Shengelia and Bertans nailed back-to-back three-pointers as the hosts went ahead 16-13. The Reds regained the lead with a basket from Lojeski and a monster dunk from Hunter. Causeur made a steal and raced for a layup, but baskets inside from Hunter and Printezis kept the visitors in front, and Sloukas drove for a layup to make it 19-23 at the end of the quarter.

Second quarter: The Reds keep slim lead

Sloukas kept running the visitors’ offense and fed Vasileios Kavvadas with a lovely pass for a layup. After a big dunk from Kim Tillie, Sloukas found Dimitrios Agravanis for a wide-open three and a 21-28 cushion. Oliver Lafayette sank a tough baseline jumper, but a step-back triple from Fernando San Emeterio and a fastbreak dunk from Bertans helped Laboral get within 29-30. Printezis nailed a triple and James countered with a baseline jumper. Mantzaris drove for a runner, but James raced for a fastbreak dunk to bring his team within 33-35. Olympiacos remained in front with a three-point play from Hunter, but San Emeterio banked in a tough baseline shot to make it 36-38 at halftime.

Third quarter: Teams trade blows, stay close

Shengelia drove for a layup, and Iverson had a put-back dunk to give Laboral the lead, but Tremmell Darden sank a triple to put the Reds up 40-41. The teams traded leads as Causeur twice drove to the basket, while Lojeski hit a long jumper. A fastbreak layup from Printezis and a triple from Lafayette gave the visitors a 44-48 advantage. Bertans made free throws, and Hunter responded with another dunk. After Ioannis Papapetrou and Mirza Begic traded quick layups, a corner triple from San Emeterio tied the score at 52-52. In the final minute of the quarter, free throws from Agravanis and Sloukas on one end, and Tillie at the other made it 53-55.

Fourth quarter: James leads Laboral to dramatic win

Agravanis buried a triple to open a 5-point margin as Olympiacos kept the hosts scoreless for almost three minutes until Causeur sank a triple, Laboral’s third attempt during the same trip down the floor. On the next possession, James hit from way downtown for a 59-58 lead. Hunter split free throws, but Tillie had a monster dunk and Causeur drove coast-to-coast for a layup and a 63-59 advantage with six minutes to go. After a timeout, Printezis banked in a pair of close range shots to tie it, before Lafayette knocked down a triple to go ahead 63-66. James split defenders to drive for a layup for the hosts, then made 5 of 5 from the foul line for a 70-66 difference. Hunter elevated high for an alley-oop dunk, but James made a steal under Olympiacos’s basket and scored a layup, his ninth straight point. On the other end, Sloukas answered with a basket-plus-foul for a 72-71 lead. Bertans sank a jumper with his toes on the 6.75-meter arc, but Hunter had another huge put-back dunk to make it 74-73. In the final minute, Printezis missed 2 free throws with 41 seconds remaining, and after Tillie’s baseline jumper rimmed out, Lafayette missed a potential game-winning triple before Laboral ran out the clock.

Mike James - Laboral Kutxa Vitoria - EB14
Friday, March 20, 2015
Euroleague.net
Referees: RYZHYK, BORYS; PATERNICO, CARMELO; SHULGA, BORIS
Attendance: 11953
By Quarter1234
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria19171721
Olympiacos Piraeus23151718
End of Quarter1234
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria19365374
Olympiacos Piraeus23385573
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 ADAMS, DARIUS 20:07   0/1 0/1     1 1 3 1 4 1 1 2 2 -1
3 JAMES, MIKE 23:08 17 4/8 1/4 6/7 1 5 6 2 5 1     2 4 23
4 IVERSON, COLTON 25:28 5 2/3   1/2 1 4 5 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 10
5 CAUSEUR, FABIEN 26:14 13 5/8 1/3     3 3 3   1 1   4 4 14
7 SHENGELIA, TORNIKE 21:56 5 1/6 1/1   1 4 5 2 1 3     2   3
10 DIOP, MAMADOU DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 DIOP, ILIMANE DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
14 TILLIE, KIM 18:04 5 2/5 0/1 1/2 4 1 5 2 1 1     4 1 4
15 BEGIC, MIRZA 14:32 6 1/1   4/6 1   1 1   3     2 4 5
18 MARTINEZ, CARLOS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 SAN EMETERIO, FERNANDO 20:56 8 1/2 2/6   1 2 3 2       1   3 10
42 BERTANS, DAVIS 29:35 15 2/4 3/9 2/2 1 3 4       1   2 2 12
Team           3 4 7     1         6
Totals 200:00 74 18/38 8/25 14/19 13 27 40 16 9 15 4 3 20 23 86
        47.4% 32% 73.7%
Head coach: NAVARRO, IBON
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Olympiacos Piraeus
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 HUNTER, OTHELLO 23:02 14 6/6   2/3 2 1 3   1 2     3 4 16
6 DUNSTON, BRYANT 9:17 4 2/3           1         4 1 1
9 PAPAPETROU, IOANNIS 6:02 2 1/1           2         1   3
10 SLOUKAS, KOSTAS 16:53 7 2/4 0/2 3/3   3 3 5   4     1 5 11
15 PRINTEZIS, GEORGIOS 27:14 15 6/10 1/4 0/4 3 4 7 1       1 1 3 13
16 AGRAVANIS, DIMITRIS 12:46 7 0/1 2/3 1/2   2 2   1 1 2   2 2 8
17 MANTZARIS, VANGELIS 28:39 4 2/3 0/2     2 2 4 2 1   1 4 1 4
18 KAVVADAS, VASILIS 7:41 2 1/2               1     4   -4
19 KATSIVELIS, DIMITRIS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
20 LAFAYETTE, OLIVER 18:47 8 1/4 2/3     3 3 3   2       1 9
21 DARDEN, TREMMELL 19:48 3 0/5 1/2   1 1 2   1     1 1 1 -1
24 LOJESKI, MATT 29:51 7 2/4 1/4     4 4 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 8
Team           1 2 3               3
Totals 200:00 73 23/43 7/20 6/12 7 22 29 18 6 12 3 4 23 20 71
        53.5% 35% 50%
Head coach: SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS

Head Coaches

NAVARRO, IBON
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria
"I think that our first half lacked that intensity and toughness the game required. We just relied on our offensive accuracy, but defensively we allowed easy baskets, coming from one-on-one situations, allowing their backcourt to feed the inside players too easily. In the second half, the team understood what was needed to win. Even though we wasted a 4-point advantage after a timeout, when we were unable to slow down and read better the game, we managed to rebuild our confidence and our lead. We didn't make the best decisions in the end of the game, but our rebounding helped us to win it. We won a game decided in the last minute, finally, and it came from our defense. That's the difference comparing this with some other close games we lost."
SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"It was a very close game. It was a game that was decided by small details. We controlled the game very well for most of the time, we managed to prevent Laboral Kutxa from having a good tempo, except the last three-to-four minutes, when we gave up some fast-breaks and easy points. In general we brought the game to the place we wanted, they average 83 points and tonight they scored just 74. At the end we had three chances to win the game, with some free throws and open shots, but we missed those opportunities, so we lost the game. This is basketball and I think we had our chances to win the game, but we missed something tonight. Congratulations to Laboral Kutxa for this win. We fought really hard despite the absences and played a good game. "

Players

CAUSEUR, FABIEN
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria
"It was a real battle, a struggle, until the very end. I think our team deserved this win, especially after several games that we lost in the last possessions. I think this will grant us some extra confidence in the future. I didn't think too much if the last shot was in or out, things go too fast on court and I just concentrated on grabbing the rebound. We put some extra intensity and toughness in the second half, but they are a team with incredible pride and faith and never gave up. Olympiacos proved what we already knew, that they are an excellent team even without Spanoulis."
DUNSTON, BRYANT
Olympiacos Piraeus
"It was a tough game. We did what we wanted to do defensively for most of the game, but we came short down the stretch. We allowed some fast-breaks, we missed some free throws and we lost our chances. We are very deep, we have a lot of players and even though we are missing some important players in the last games, we always stay in the game and fight for the win; When some players are out, the others must step up to help the group and that's what we tried to do tonight."
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