Paris Basketball is back to winning ways in the Euroleague! After their three-game winning streak was snapped by Olympiakos on Tuesday (87-104), the Parisian club secured a hard-fought 90-81 victory over ASVEL, who remain at the bottom of the standings. The Parisians faced a scare late in the game, but Justin Robinson (23 points) stepped up in crunch time, scoring his team’s final 10 points to seal the win.
The game began with ASVEL taking an early lead (2-8, 2nd minute). Paris Basketball briefly found their rhythm through Mouhamed Faye, assisted by Lamar Stevens, and Amath M’baye evened the score with a three-pointer (14-14, 6th minute). However, the Parisians’ poor shooting from beyond the arc (2/11 in the first quarter) allowed ASVEL to regain a slight advantage. Veteran Thomas Heurtel then hit a corner shot, and Glynn Watson helped maintain ASVEL’s lead (17-23, 10th minute). A long-range buzzer-beater attempt by Seba Herrera narrowly missed, failing to reduce the deficit further.
The second quarter saw the Parisians significantly tighten their defense, holding the visitors to just one point in the first six minutes. However, despite these defensive efforts, Paris’s offense, exemplified by Jared Rhoden’s struggles (0/5 from the field by halftime), failed to capitalize on the turnovers and stops they generated. Taking advantage of Paris’s offensive woes, ASVEL found their rhythm again. Bastien Vautier helped them regain a significant lead (26-32, 17th minute). Thomas Heurtel (6 points, 6 assists by halftime) orchestrated a further increase in the margin, first with a mid-range shot then a magnificent assist to David Lighty on a fast break (29-38, 19th minute).
Trailing by nine points at halftime, Paris had a big task ahead to catch up. Energized by the packed adidas arena, the home team progressively closed the gap. A three-pointer from Lamar Stevens, following a superb solo effort by Jeremy Morgan, erased the deficit, tying the game at 46-46 (26th minute). Nadir Hifi, quiet in the first half, symbolized Paris’s resurgence by getting on the scoreboard (49-49, 27th minute). Paris then took the lead late in the third quarter with back-to-back three-pointers from Sebastian Herrera and Justin Robinson (60-53, 30th minute), with Robinson proving to be in excellent form recently.
The momentum had firmly shifted in favor of the home team, who continued to extend their lead. Allan Dokossi delivered a spectacular sequence with a block followed by a successful finish, pushing Paris further ahead (65-53, 32nd minute). Despite the comfortable lead, ASVEL staged a late comeback attempt, fueled by two consecutive three-pointers from Armel Traoré, narrowing the gap to just two points (80-78, 39th minute). However, Justin Robinson decisively sealed Paris’s victory with two successive three-pointers (86-80, 40th minute). Paris then managed the final seconds of the game to secure a 90-81 win, their twelfth of the Euroleague season.
