ASVEL downs Ulm to go top of the group

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne protected its home court in a highly-entertaining and a high-scoring affair, downing visiting ratiopharm Ulm 93-89 on Tuesday night. The win improved ASVEL to 2-0 in Group F, while Ulm dropped to 1-1. The hosts controlled the game from the start, but Ulm kept coming back and came within striking distance in the final minute. Amine Noua led all ASVEL scorers with 16 points and DeMarcus Nelson had 14, while Miro Bilan collected 11 points and 11 rebounds in victory. Patrick Miller paced Ulm with 20 points and Javonte Green and Ryan Thompson scored 15 apiece in the losing effort.

ASVEL took control right away with Noua scoring 8 straight points, including back-to-back triples, in a 10-0 run. Miller got Ulm going, but Theo Maledon strung together 6 points to help open an 18-11 lead. Gavin Schilling and Green helped cut it to 24-19 after 10 minutes. A triple from Charles Kahudi sparked an 11-2 run, capped by a three-point play by A.J. Slaughter to make it 37-23 with 6:50 left in the first half. However, Thompson answered with 8 consecutive points in 60 seconds to get Ulm within 37-31. ASVEL quickly stopped the bleeding and, with the help of Mantas Kalnietis and Kahudi, took a 50-40 advantage into halftime. Green quickly halved the deficit, but Nelson, David Lighty, Kalnietis and eventually Noua each knocked down a triple to make it 70-54. Ulm kept hanging around, led by Miller. Katin Reinhardt sank a pair of three-pointers, including a half-court buzzer beater, to make it 78-68 going into the fourth quarter. The visitors got much closer, holding ASVEL scoreless for more than 4 minutes to open the fourth quarter. Ismet Akpinar's three-pointer cut it to 78-75. But Nelson made plays on both ends of the floor, including scoring a three-point play, and Noua's transition triple restored a double-digit margin at 87-77. Bogdan Radosavljevic and Green kept Ulm in it and Ulm closed within 87-84 on Reinhardt's three-pointer with 40 seconds to go. His fourth three-pointer got Ulm with 91-89 with 3.9 seconds left before Nelson sealed the outcome from the foul line.

Key run

Among one of many of its rallies, Ulm got within 5 points in the third quarter, but Bogdan Radosavljevic was swinging his elbows and got called for an unsportsmanlike foul. It changed the momentum to ASVEL's side and the hosts used it to hit 4 three-pointers, including 3 consecutive from David Lighty, Mantas Kalnietis and Amine Noua to turn 52-47 into 70-54.

Hidden stat

After each team scored 28 points in the third quarter, the two teams needed 2 minutes and 22 seconds to score the first basket of the fourth quarter. ASVEL needed 4 minutes and 7 seconds to score its first points of the fourth.

ASVEL takes advantage on the glass

Among Miro Bilan's 11 rebounds, 7 came on the offensive glass – both tying his career-highs. ASVEL had 18 offensive boards compared to 8 by Ulm. The visitors really felt the absence of Isaac Fotu and Dwayne Evens under the rims.

Key contributors

ASVEL had five scorers in double digits, including Theo Maledon and Charles Kahudi, who scored 11 apiece. Mantas Kalnietis orchestrated ASVEL's offense with 7 assists. For Ulm, Katin Reinhardt netted 14 points on 4-for-7 three-point shooting, including a half-court buzzer beater to end the third quarter and a pair of off-balance triples in the final 45 seconds of the game.

Next up

In Round 3 next Wednesday, ASVEL will take its unbeaten Top 16 record on the road to play winless Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt, while Ulm will face Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar on its home floor.