Rarely does a player return to his former home and leave with a night like this. Jean Montero returned to Roig Arena wearing Olympiacos colors, watched his team fall 28 points behind early in the second half, and ended up leading a comeback that EuroLeague already counts among the greatest in its history: it ties the competition record. Olympiacos won 97-102 in overtime and Montero takes Matchday 5 MVP with a 35 rating.
His game was more about aggression than outside accuracy. Montero attacked the rim over and over: he barely missed from two-point range, drew 11 fouls and lived at the free throw line, where he made 9 of 10. He finished with 26 points, the highest total of the matchday. The performance comes at a time when his growth with the Piraeus club is most evident: his minutes have increased at the expense of Tyler Dorsey, whom Olympiacos has sidelined this week after he criticized the club on social media.
Also read:
- 49 rebounds and Montero: Olympiacos crushes Efes (89-66)
- Valencia Basket stays perfect against Hapoel and leads with 4-0 in EuroLeague (93-82)
- EuroLeague Matchday 4 recap: Valencia keeps pace with Panathinaikos
Madar, Saric and Zizic, in defeat
Behind Montero, the best ratings of the matchday came in losses. Yam Madar came close with a 31 rating at Palau, where Maccabi fell to Barcelona on Justin Robinson's three-pointer at the buzzer. Dario Saric (28) posted his best EuroLeague scoring performance in Efes's loss to Bayern, with a perfect 9 of 9 from the free throw line, and Ante Zizic matched that rating in Besiktas's loss in Sofia. Tyson Etienne (27) rounded out the group with 23 points and 7 assists, though he missed the final shot against Virtus.
The matchday also featured another game-winner: Chris Jones gave Crvena Zvezda victory over Villeurbanne at the buzzer (82-84) and distributed 9 assists, the most of the matchday.