Sure, FC Bayern Munich had two players score 20 points or more in its big victory over Valencia Basket on Friday night. But head coach Andrea Trinchieri was quick to point out that enough of his players did the necessary small things to come up with yet another big result in the club's best start in its six Turkish Airlines EuroLeague seasons to date.
Vladimir Lucic scored a team-high 22 points while Paul Zipser poured in 20 points as Bayern pulled away late in grabbing a 90-79 win over Valencia to move to a 6-2 record and exclusive possession of second place. But this first-ever win over the Spanish club was anything but just a two-man show.
"Three or four other players did big things for us. When you put together two, three, four, five small things, big things happen. And I had a lot of players doing small things that were important," Trinchieri said after the win.
While Lucic was strong all game, Zipser had a big second half. JaJuan Johnson, meanwhile, was a real force for Bayern in the first half with 15 of his career-high 17 points and 7 of his career-high 8 rebounds coming in the opening 20 minutes. And Malcolm Thomas also chipped in 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Nick Weiler-Babb ended with just 6 points but he drained a big triple after Valencia had pulled ahead by 5 in the third quarter. He also contributed 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in the win. Jalen Reynolds finished with just 5 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, including a key three-point play and assist in the third quarter.
Zan Sisko had been dishing assists much of the night but didn't score his first points until a floater with under 5 minutes to play. He added a jumper after Valencia had tied the game inside the 4 minute mark and then hit a driving layup for his final points to start the decisive 11-2 run with 2 minutes remaining.
"It wasn't the best game. It didn't look good, but it tastes great," Trinchieri said. "These guys are trying every day to go over their limits. It's just the beginning, but more than proud, I am really happy for my players because I know how much I am demanding."
Demanding them to do the small things – because enough of them will lead to big things.