2020-21Top 16Round 2
AS Monaco 90
Unicaja Malaga 71
January 19, 2021 CET: 18:30
Local time: 18:30 STADE LOUIS II

Lessort leads Monaco past Unicaja

AS Monaco remained undefeated in 7DAYS EuroCup Top 16 Group E after downing Unicaja Malaga 90-71 at home on Tuesday. Monaco improved to 2-0 in the standings and remains undefeated at home against Spanish League teams in EuroCup action - four wins in as many games. Unicaja dropped to 0-2. Rob Gray paced the winners with 24 points and Mathias Lessort tallied 20 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks. Dee Bost added 15 points and 8 assists and J.J. O'Brien scored 12 for Monaco. Deon Thompson led Unicaja with 20 points and 8 rebounds, Jaime Fernandez added 11 points and Ruben Guerrero scored 10 for Unicaja, which led 31-39 at halftime. O'Brien and an unstoppable Lessort rescued Monaco, giving their team a 61-57 margin at the end of the third quarter. Monaco boosted its margin to 69-59 and never looked back.

Thompson got Unicaja going with a three-pointer and a jumper. He got help from Alberto Diaz for a 0-10 lead. Gray struck from downtown and Marcos Knight added a layup, but Diaz made it 5-13. Lessort dunked and a red-hot Gray hit consecutive triples to bring Monaco within 13-16. Knight took over with a driving layup and Abdoulaye Ndoye added a tip-in, but Dario Brizuela and Guerrero each scored in the paint for a 17-20 Unicaja lead after 10 minutes. Guerrero and Axel Bouteille combined for all the points in a 1-9 run that restored a double-digit Unicaja lead, 18-29, early in the second quarter. Thompson followed a dunk with a jumper before adding a tip-in that broke the game open, 19-35. O'Brien and Lessort tried to change things for Monaco and Bost struck from beyond the arc to give the hosts hope at 28-37. Lessort dunked again, but Fernandez's driving layup built a 31-39 Unicaja lead at halftime.

Lessort kept pushing Monaco with a tip-in soon after the break. Adam Waczynski struck from downtown and Guerrero added a layup, but Gray and an unstoppable Lessort got Monaco even closer, 41-44. After Guerrero and O'Brien exchanged jump hooks, Gray buried his fourth triple and a tip-in by Lessort gave the hosts their first lead, 48-46. Damien Ingles sank a three-pointer and O'Brien added a basket-plus-foul to boost Monaco's margin to 54-48. Thompson and Fernandez rescued Unicaja, but Ndoye joined the three-point shootout. Lessort made it 61-57 after 30 minutes. Bost struck from beyond the arc early in the fourth quarter and Wilfried Yeguete followed a wild three-point play with a put-back layup for a 69-59 Monaco lead. Gray followed a fastbreak layup with a jumper. Bouteille and Brizuela got Unicaja within 73-64. After O'Brien scored in penetration, Gray scored and Bost buried a step-back triple that sealed the outcome, 82-67, with less than 3 minutes left.

Pivotal performer

Mathias Lessort had an outstanding performance, especially at the offensive end as a dominant force in the paint. He set new EuroCup career-highs in points (20), offensive rebounds (8) and steals (4), hitting 7 of 10 two-point shots, 6 of 8 free throws and added 1 assist, 2 blocks and 6 fouls drawn for a PIR of 32, matching his personal best.

Game-changing moment

Ruben Guerrero gave Unicaja a 41-46 lead early in the third quarter but Monaco improved its defense and stopped running its offense through Lessort, finding other go-to guys. J.J. O'Brien, Damien Inglis and Rob Gray fueled a 13-2 run that gave Monaco its first lead of the night, 54-48, switching the game's momentum for good.

Stellar stat

Monaco forced Unicaja to 21 turnovers and only committed 7. The hosts pulled down 22 offensive rebounds to set a club record. Turnover and offensive rebounds gave Monaco 43 extra possessions, which made a big difference.

Did you know?

Mathias Lessort pulled down 8 offensive rebounds to set a Monaco club record. The previous record belonged to Ian Hummer, who had 7 offensive boards in a 65-75 victory against ratiopharm on October 16, 2018.

Next game

Both teams return to EuroCup action next week. Monaco visits Joventut Badalona on Tuesday, January 26. A day later, Unicaja hosts Nanterre 92.

Mathias Lessort - AS Monaco (photo Monaco) - EC20
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Eurocupbasketball.com
Referees: JAVOR, DAMIR; SUKYS, ARTURAS; SILVA, SERGIO
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234
AS Monaco17143029
Unicaja Malaga20191814
End of Quarter1234
AS Monaco17316190
Unicaja Malaga20395771
AS Monaco
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 BOST, DEE 37:13 15 1/7 4/10 1/2 2 4 6 8 2 1     3 4 18
3 DEMAHIS, RUDY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 INGLIS, DAMIEN 10:29 3 0/3 1/3                 1 3   -6
9 KNIGHT, MARCOS 22:50 5 2/8 0/3 1/2 1 2 3 2 2 2 1 1 3 2 -1
11 NDOYE, ABDOULAYE 25:40 5 1/2 1/3   1 1 2     1     3 2 2
13 RATTON, JORDAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
15 YEGUETE, WILFRIED 10:51 5 2/3   1/1 2 2 4     1     2 3 8
21 WILLIS, DARRAL DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
22 O'BRIEN, JALEEL 30:32 13 5/5 0/2 3/5 2 3 5 1 2       3 3 17
26 LESSORT, MATHIAS 29:47 20 7/10   6/8 8 1 9 1 4 2 2 1 2 6 32
32 GRAY, ROB 32:38 24 4/10 4/6 4/4   2 2 1 2       5 4 20
Team           6 2 8               8
Totals 200:00 90 22/48 10/27 16/22 22 17 39 13 12 7 3 3 24 24 98
        45.8% 37% 72.7%
Head coach: MITROVIC, ZVEZDAN
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
Unicaja Malaga
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 THOMPSON, DEON 28:12 20 5/9 1/2 7/11 4 4 8       2 1 1 5 24
3 FERNANDEZ, JAIME 20:30 11 4/6 0/1 3/3 2 1 3 1   6     4 5 7
4 FERRARI, FRANCO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 BRIZUELA, DARIO 18:53 8 2/4 1/1 1/2 1 1 2 3   3     5 3 5
9 DIAZ, ALBERTO 22:29 6 0/2 1/2 3/3 1   1 3   3     1 8 11
10 ALONSO, FRANCIS 21:07 2 0/1 0/1 2/2   1 1     3     2 1 -3
21 WACZYNSKI, ADAM 18:49 3 0/2 1/3     4 4 1   1     1 1 3
23 ABROMAITIS, TIM 16:48 2 0/1   2/2   4 4     2 1   4 1 1
32 GUERRERO, RUBEN 21:03 10 5/7     2 1 3 1   1   1 2   8
33 NZOSA, YANNICK 2:48                         1   -1
52 GERUN, VOLODYMYR 11:09 2 1/3     1 2 3 2   1   1 3    
83 BOUTEILLE, AXEL 18:12 7 2/5 1/2   1 2 3     1         5
Team           2 2 4               4
Totals 200:00 71 19/40 5/12 18/23 14 22 36 11 0 21 3 3 24 24 64
        47.5% 41.7% 78.3%
Head coach: CASIMIRO, LUIS

Head Coaches

MITROVIC, ZVEZDAN
AS Monaco
"It is early to comment, we are just after two games, but it is good for us. We beat the first two teams, but I think it is very important for me and my team how we played in the second half, with great aggressivity and great energy, of course. After that, we capitalized on everything in our offense and I am very happy about all these things."
CASIMIRO, LUIS
Unicaja Malaga
"I think we played well in the first half. In the second half, when Monaco played with more intensity and more physical on defense, they stopped us. It is difficult for us to play good sets on offense, avoiding screens and easy passes. It was difficult for us to play with rhythm on offense and this was the key; when Monaco played physical in the second half. It is two games only, but the Top 16 is not a long round. It is still possible; we have time to play good basketball and the next game is another possibility for us to win. We have to go step by step, every game, every practice, to continue in the Top 16."

Players

LESSORT, MATHIAS
AS Monaco
"The team was on fire, not just me. It was a big game for us. After the win in Nanterre, we're competing with this team for the top spot of the group, so that is a very important win and we are already on to the next one. Of course, we have to keep playing like that, especially the way we played in the second half. In the first half, we didn't play the defense that we wanted to, but in the second half, we stepped up and were way more aggressive and we got the job done."
BOUTEILLE, AXEL
Unicaja Malaga
"In the first half, I think we played good together and we were up by maybe 15 points or something like this. We were still up at halftime and won both quarters in the first half. Then in the second half, I think they played more physical than us. In the first half, our game plan worked well because they were missing shots in the beginning. When they started to make them, it was more difficult for us. They made the difference in the second half. I tried to give what I can give today. My ankle is way better, but I still have work to do. Mathias [Lessort] played a good game tonight. For sure, he played really good inside, but I think all the Monaco team played better than us, especially in the second half."
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