After trailing by 24, Nanterre rallies to stay alive

In a thrilling do-or-die showdown for both teams to stay alive in Group C, Nanterre 92 rallied from a 24-point deficit to down Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 90-87 at home on Wednesday. Nanterre improved to 4-5 in the standings, while Olimpija dropped to 3-6 and was mathematically eliminated from the Top 16 race. Isaia Cordinier led the winners with 23 points, Dallas Moore added 22, Devin Oliver had 15 and Kenny Chery 13 for Nanterre. Ryan Boatright paced Cedevita with 22 points, Codi Miller-McIntyre added 18, Edo Muric 15 and Marko Simonovic 10. Moore and Chery each hit a triple in a 10-3 run that put Nanterre ahead for good, 85-78, late in the fourth quarter. Olimpija never gave up and took the game till the final seconds, but Nanterre held on for a big come-from-behind win.

Moore downed a three-pointer to get Nanterre going, but Muric struck twice from downtown for a 4-6 Olimpija lead. Simonovic joined the three-point shootout and Muric added another from beyond the arc to boost the visitors' lead to 6-12. Simonovic nailed Olimpija's fifth triple and got help from Muric and Boatright to make it a double-digit game, 6-19. Cordinier sank a three-pointer, but Andrija Stipanovic and Miller-McIntyre each had a layup-plus-foul, Filip Kruslin struck from downtown and a buzzer-beating dunk by Mikael Hopkins fixed the score at 11-30 after 10 minutes. A layup by Kruslin capped a 0-12 run and made it 11-34, early in the second quarter. Mehdy Mgouama scored in penetration, but Boatright did better with a three-point play. Cordinier rescued Nanterre with consecutive three-pointers, igniting a 12-0 run which he capped with a dunk. Maik Zirbes stepped up for Olimpija, but a red-hot Cordinier followed a put-back layup with a wild three-point play to get Nanterre even closer, 30-39. Simonovic took over with a driving layup and Miller-McIntyre added a floater for a 32-43 Olimpija margin at halftime.

Oliver and Moore each struck from downtown soon after the break in a 0-8 run that Cordinier capped with a driving layup to make it 40-43. Cordinier kept pushing the hosts, but Boatright and Miller-McIntyre scored in penetration to give Olimpija fresh air at 45-49. Oliver sank his second triple and Spencer Butterfield added a put-back basket that tied it at 50-50. The visitors kept running their offense through Miller-McIntyre and Boatright, who combined for 9 points in a 0-13 run that Kruslin capped with a coast-to-coast layup that gave Olimpija a 52-65 lead. Nanterre blew up the game with a rain of three-pointers; Bouquet and Moore hit one apiece for a 58-65 score after 30 minutes. Moore hit twice more and then Oliver and Butterfield joined the run, causing Olimpija to call timeout at 72-65 after a 20-0 run. Miller-McIntyre and Stipanovic rescued Cedevita, tying the game at 75-75 with over 4 minutes left. Taylor Smith scored down low, Moore and Muric traded triples and then Chery hit a jumper for an 82-78 Nanterre lead. A three-pointer by Chery sealed the outcome, 85-78, in the next-to-last minute, as Nanterre kept full control of the game from the foul line and a final three-pointer by Miller-McIntyre was too little, too late for the visitors.

Pivotal performer

Dallas Moore had an outstanding performance, opening the floor with his three-point shooting. He finished the game with 22 points on 6-of-8 shooting from downtown plus 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 fouls drawn for a team-best PIR of 22.

Game-changing moment

Olimpija led 52-65 late in the third quarter, but in a matter of 4 minutes, Nanterre reeled off a 20-0 run with 6 three-point shots - 3 of them from Moore and one each from Bouquet, Oliver and Butterfield. Even though Olimpija managed to tie the game again, Nanterre gained momentum with that 20-0 run that kept it in crunch time.

Stellar stat

Nanterre hit a club-record 17 three-point shots on 34 attempts (50%). Its previous record was 14 three-pointers made against Telekom Baskets Bonn on November 10, 2015. Even though Cedevita downed 5 three-pointers in the opening minutes, it finished with 9-of-22 shooting from downtown (40.9%).

Did you notice?

Cordinier averaged 21.5 points and a PIR of 24.5 in two games against Cedevita this season - and 9.0 points and a PIR of 5.8 against all other opponents.

Next game

Nanterre will play another do-or-die game, this time on the road against Germani Brescia Leonessa on Tuesday, December 17. Cedevita takes on Joventut Badalona the following evening in its last 7DAYS EuroCup game of the season.