Hackett stars as Montepaschi nets win over Munich

Montepaschi Siena remained in the running for the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 with a 71-62 victory at home over Bayern Munich on Friday. Siena used a 13-1 run late in the second quarter to take control and never let Munich regain the lead. Daniel Hackett collected 15 points, 10 assists 4 rebounds and drew 11 fouls for the Italian champs. Montepaschi improved to 2-5 in Group C. Spencer Nelson finally returned to the team and had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals while Erick Green chipped in 10 points for the winners. Bayern suffered its fourth loss in the last five games to fall to 3-4 despite Malcolm Delaney leading the way with 13 points. John Bryant added 12 points and 11 rebounds while Nihad Djedovic had 10 points.

First quarter: Neither team can pull away early

Siena coach Marco Crespi did not change his starting line-up, trusting once again Hackett, Joshua Carter, Green, Tomas Ress and Othello Hunter. Bayern coach Svetislav Pesic swapped Bryce Taylor in favor of Robin Benzing alongside Delaney, Djedovic, Chevon Troutman and Bryant. Delaney started the game with a three-ball and was matched by a trey from Carter. Bryant’s basket was evened up by two Hackett free throws followed up by a Hunter putback dunk in transition. Delaney once again hit a long ball for a 7-8 lead. Siena pulled back ahead 10-8 and the gap was 13-10 after a Taylor Rochestie three-pointer. Nelson came into the game for the first time after missing five weeks and had a major impact, hitting a driving layup before Hackett’s free throw to make it 16-11. Deon Thompson answered with a put-back and Djedovic evened the game again with a triple for 16-16. Jeffrey Viggiano gave the hosts a three-point lead after one quarter, 21-18, with a trey just before the buzzer.

Second quarter: Siena hits 3 threes in 13-1 run

Thompson opened the second quarter before another Viggiano triple to make it 24-20. Heiko Schaffartzik hit right back with a long ball and Benzing’s three-pointer from the corner evened the game at 28-28. Yassin Idbihi hit two foul shots to push Bayern ahead 28-30 before Munich’s offense went cold. Green’s trey started a 13-1 run which also included a Hunter dunk and three-pointers from Nelson and Hackett in opening a 41-31 lead. Bayern went the final 6:38 without a basket – with Benzing’s triple the last made shot. Delaney tacked on three more points with seven seconds left after a technical foul and personal foul. And Siena led 41-34 at intermission.

Third quarter: Munich rallies, but can’t get closer than 4

Taylor started the second half with a jumper on the left baseline and Carter nailed a three for Siena’s first score to make it 44-36. Djedovic had a driving layup and Bryant hit a jumper to close the deficit to 44-40. But Hunter drove down the lane for a dunk and then Green drained a long-ball for a 49-40 lead. Bryant’s basket was answered with a Siena steal and score by Green to make it 51-42. Bayern went the final 4:34 of the third quarter without a basket after the Bryant score as Thompson converted two free throws for the only other Munich points to trim the deficit to 51-44. Benjamin Ortner’s free throw gave Siena a 52-44 cushion after three quarters.

Fourth quarter: After trailing by 16, visitors rally to claim tiebreaker

Ortner sandwiched two baskets early in the fourth quarter around a Schaffartzik score and Ress picked up a steal and passed to Green for a lay-up and a 58-46 lead. After a Thompson free throw, Djedovic converted a layup after a steal and two Djedovic foul shots got Bayern to within 58-51. After Nelson and Delaney swapped baskets, Djedovic picked up a steal and passed forward to Delaney who missed a layup which would have made it a five-point game. Rochestie made Munich pay with a three-ball from the left wing for a 63-53 lead. Hackett followed that with a pull-up jumper in the lane and Nelson drained a trey in the right corner to put Siena ahead 68-54 with three minutes to play. Nelson’s basket pushed Siena’s advantage to 70-54 with two minutes remaining. Munich made sure they finished strong with Lucca Staiger draining a triple and Bryant also scored before Delaney knocked down a jumper off the glass to cut the margin to 70-61. Hackett and Bryant both split free throws in the final 10 seconds and Ress’s missed three at the buzzer meant Bayern own the head-to-head advantage over Siena.