Monaco rolls past Bayern, extends win streak to three

AS Monaco rolled past FC Bayern Munich at home 94-71 thanks to a balanced effort on offense and a strong defensive showing. Monaco built a 13-point lead in the second quarter and never let Bayern get closer than seven points the rest of the game. Mike James paced five Monaco players in double figures with 18 points while Danilo Andjusic and Dwayne Bacon both picked up 16 points and Leo Westermann and Will Thomas both scored 13 as the hosts improved to 5-4. Bayern has now lost two straight to fall to 3-6. Vladimir Lucic led the German side with 15 points with Othello Hunter scoring 14 points and Augustine Rubit and Deshaun Thomas both picking up 10 points in the loss.

Westermann buried two three-pointers to start the game for the hosts with Rubit hitting Bayern’s first points. Thomas also drained a triple to push the margin to 13-4. Nick Weiler-Babb countered with back-to-back baskets to get Bayern within 15-10 only to see James convert an and-one and Westermann knock down a third three-pointer, and Monaco was up 23-12. The guests punched back with a 0-6 spurt, but Monaco had a 27-20 lead after 10 minutes.

After Darrun Hillard started the second quarter with a free throw for Bayern, Andjusic scored two baskets and Paris Lee splashed home a triple and the gap was 34-21. Lucic stopped the run and Hunter followed with six points to get within 37-30. Bayern ran into foul trouble when Hunter drew his fourth foul 3 minutes before the break with Rubit already on the bench with three fouls. Lucic tried to make up for the losses with a three-pointer. But Monaco had the size advantage and Bacon converted a three-point play before Andjusic hit a triple to give the hosts a 49-35 cushion. James and Andjusic both connected from long range again and Monaco went to the break up 55-43.

Rubit picked up his fourth foul just 45 seconds into the second half and it took nearly 2 minutes for either team to score, with Deshaun Thomas hitting for Bayern and Westermann scoring at the other end. Both teams struggled to execute offensively, James hitting three free throws as Monaco remained in control 63-49. Bayern fought hard to get back into the game with Hunter trimming the margin to 64-55. Andjusic countered with two baskets and Monaco was back ahead by 15 points - 70-55. And the score was 72-60 after 30 minutes.

Andjusic and Donta Hall hooked up for an alley-oop dunk to start the fourth quarter and Andjusic added a basket to push the lead to 76-60. Bayern needed nearly 4 minutes to finally score with a Hunter dunk. Monaco mounted an 8-0 run to decide the game for good with a 22-point lead, 86-64, with just more than 3 minutes to play. James added five more along the way for the hosts.

Pivotal performer - Dwayne Bacon with best game so far

With so many players scoring in double figures it is hard to single out one, but Dwayne Bacon really shined for the first time. In his third game for Monaco, Bacon scored 16 points as he made 4-of-5 2-pointers and 8-of-8 free throws - though he missed all three of his three-point attempts. Bacon also grabbed 3 rebounds while chipping in 1 assist and 1 steal for an index rating of 17. He stepped up big in the second quarter when Bayern cut the lead to seven points, scoring seven points as the advantage grew to 13 points. Bacon had scored 15 points combined in his first two games for the team.

Vladimir Lucic ever the warrior for Bayern

Bayern were hit hard by foul trouble but one of the few players who actually was very effective was Vladimir Lucic. The veteran poured in 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting as well as 2-of-2 from three-point range and 1-of-2 from the foul line. Lucic also grabbed 4 rebounds while dishing out 1 assist and getting 1 steal. He also drew 6 fouls for an index rating of 23, which was 13 more than any other Bayern player in the loss at Monaco on Friday night.

Telling numbers - Monaco punish Bayern turnovers

The biggest difference in the game was Bayern’s turnovers, with the visitors losing the ball 20 times after having averaged just 10.5 turnovers coming into the game. Monaco made them pay for those mistakes with 30 points off turnovers, to just 7 Bayern points off 9 Monaco turnovers. Bayern also struggled mightily from long range, hitting just 3-of-12 three-pointers for 25.0% while Monaco made 9-of-23 for 39.1%. The hosts also converted a blistering 69.4% on 2-pointers - a new club record.