Laboral Kutxa dominates Limoges

Laboral Kutxa Vitoria never trailed, hit 13 three-pointers, dished 28 assists and forced 21 turnovers en route to a resounding 71-107 road win over Limoges CSP on Thursday night for its second consecutive victory. Laboral improved to 2-1 record and grabbed a share of first place in Group B, while Limoges dropped to 1-2 with its second home loss. Laboral had six different scorers and a 14-point lead after 10 minutes and the margin only grew in the second as Alberto Corbacho and Mike James joined the show. Laboral built a 34-60 halftime lead and the margin reached 34 points early in the third as there was no coming back for the hosts. Laboral had 11 players score at least 3 points in the game; Darius Adams led the way with 18 points and 9 assists. Fabien Causeur netted 16, Corbacho had 14, and James 12 points in victory. Randy Culpepper scored 13 for Limoges, Ali Traore had 11, while Leo Westermann and Nobel Boungou-Colo each had 10 in the losing effort.

First quarter: Laboral builds big lead early

Kim Tillie hit a baseline jumper to start the scoring, and Heiko Schaffartzik answered with a jumper for Limoges. Causeur nailed a wide-open three-pointer and Adams hit from downtown for a 2-8 start. Will Daniels answered with a three for the hosts, and after Causeur’s jumper just inside the arc, Boungou-Colo made a tough baseline jumper for the hosts to get within 7-10. But Laboral kept playing defense and using mistakes by Limoges. Darko Planinic made free throws, and after Tillie nailed a catch-and-shoot jumper, Planinic's put-back made it 7-16. Another long jumper from Tillie extended the margin to 10 points, before Westermann fed Traore for an easy layup. But Planinic scored inside again, followed by an easy basket from Ioannis Bourousis for a 10-24 cushion. Mark Payne answered from mid-range for the hosts, but a Bourousis put-back made it 12-26 after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Laboral grabs total control

Tillie opened the quarter with a three-point play for a 17-point margin. Traore knocked down a mid-range jumper and Culpepper added a driving layup to cut into the deficit. After Jaka Blazic scored an easy fastbreak, Boungou-Colo hit a triple for the hosts. Blazic drove for an easy two and Bourousis made a turnaround jumper to make it 19-36. After Frejus Zerbo scored inside, Culpepper converted a three-point play. Corbacho nailed a corner three for Laboral, but after a timeout, Payne drove for a basket-plus-foul to keep Limoges within range midway through the quarter. Bourousis scored another basket inside, but Corbacho hit again from the same right corner and followed it on the next possession with a long jumper from the left corner, helping extend the margin to 29-48. Matt Gatens answered with a corner three for the hosts, but Causeur and Ilimane Diop connected on an alley-oop dunk and James picked up a loose ball and raced for a dunk over Boungou-Colo that made it 32-54. Zerbo answered with an easy slam for Limoges, but Causeur nailed a triple and James beat the halftime buzzer, shaking off a defender and hitting a step-back three for a 34-60 halftime lead.

Third quarter: Lead up to 34, Limoges makes a run

Hanga opened the second half with an alley-oop dunk and a fastbreak basket from Adams broke the 30-point barrier. Boungou-Colo had an easy dunk for the hosts and Traore had a put-back, but a pair of fastbreak baskets from Hanga – a layup and a one-handed dunk – helped extend the lead to 38-72. Westermann had a three-point play, before Boungou-Colo, Traore and Wetermann added close-range baskets in a 9-0 run. After Causueur and Westerman traded threes, Westermann added a fastbreak layup to the hosts’ tally, and Gatens hit a triple in transition to cut the deficit to 55-75. However, James finished the quarter with a triple, snapping a 17-3 run and making it 55-78 after three quarters.

Fourth quarter: Laboral closes it out

Culpepper and James traded baskets to start the quarter. Gatens and Culpepper cut it to 61-80, but Corbacho nailed another Laboral triple. Daniels had a big baseline dunk for Limoges, but more threes from Corbacho and Causeur and more baskets from Adams off Limoges turnovers pushed the margin to 64-93. Traore made a jumper, but Adams hit from way downtown for a 40-point difference. Ilimane Diop had a put-back and Adams scored on another fastbreak as Limoges turnovers piled up. The scoreboard showed 66-100 with 90 seconds to go. In the remaining time, Culpepper had a sweet reverse layup and Mamadou Diop hit from behind arc for Laboral.