Paris keeps control of 93-83 home win over Besiktas

Paris Levallois took its first victory of the Last 32 by leading from the middle of the first quarter onwards to a 93-83 decision over visiting Besiktas Integral Forex Istanbul on Tuesday. Paris now has a 1-1 record in Group M and will share second place with the loser of Wednesday's game between Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir and Neptunas Klaipeda, while Besiktas is still winless. After an early 9-9 tie, Paris led for the rest of the game, extending its margin to comfortable numbers late in the third quarter and rejecting a late comeback try by the visitors. Blake Schilb collected 24 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists for a performance index rating of 33 for the winners. Sharrod Ford drilled 18 points with 11 rebounds, Mike Green had 10 with 9 assists and Giovan Oniangue added 10 in victory. Engin Atsur led Besiktas with 29 points and 9 assists for an index rating of 38. Kenan Bajramovic chipped in 17 points, while Chris Lofton and Hilton Armstrong had 10 each for Besiktas.

After a balanced start, 9-9 after 6 minutes, a 6-0 run in which Schilb scored 4 points gave a 15-9 margin to Paris. A jumper by Atsur made it 17-13, then the hosts took off to a double-digit lead when Oniangue and Green posted back-to-back three-pointers to make it 25-13. Armstrong's free throws to end the first quarter stopped the Paris run at 25-15. Armstrong and Atsur continue to spark Besiktas as the visitors climbed to within 27-20, but Louis Laberye dunked for a new double-digit advantage, 34-23, midway through the second quarter. Free throws kept the guests close before Schilb posted 9 points in a row as Paris cruised to a 46-37 halftime advantage.

Paris opened the third quarter with back-to-back three-pointers from Schilb and Landing Sane for its biggest difference yet, 52-37. The hosts soon raised the margin to 63-44 with a jumper from Oniangue and a three-point play by Schilb. Besiktas fought to come back and with a buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter by Bajramovic from downtown cut the gap to 67-55. Ryan Broekhoff capped a 0-8 Besiktas run from long distance to trim the difference to 67-58 early in the fourth. The margin fluctuated as Atsur's strike from the arc made it 77-69, but Green answered to boost Paris ahead by 84-72 with 3 minutes left. Besiktas made a last big effort, pulling as close as 86-81 with 69 seconds left on a quick three drilled by Bajramovic. Consecutive layups of Ford and Oniangue and a final triple by Xavier Corosine restored the margin to double digits as Paris kept the win at home.