Valencia defeated Bayern in the EuroLeague Round 30 by 70:68, thus continuing their fight for a spot in the play-in.
The home team was without Brandon Davies, while Andreas Obst didn’t play for Bayern.
Bayern started the game with two successful three-pointers, but then came a true shooting spree orchestrated by the home team. Damien Inglis first sparked an 8:0 run for the home team, followed by a 13-0 run, giving Valencia a huge 15-point lead (23:8). Niels Giffey reduced his team’s deficit as much as possible, but Valencia closed out the first quarter better, leading by 13 points (28:15) at the break.
Elias Harris got Bayern into a good rhythm at the start of the second quarter, resulting in the deficit becoming single-digit for the guests within less than five minutes of play – 32:24. The German team was slightly better until halftime, so after 20 minutes of play at La Fonteta, they found themselves with an eight-point deficit (45:37).
Alex Mumbru‘s team struggled to find a way to stop Devin Booker, so the home team’s lead dwindled minute by minute. On his good sequences, Vladimir Lucic and Sylvain Francisco followed suit, and Bayern entered the decisive 10 minutes with just a one point deficit – 57:56.
Pablo Laso‘s team took the lead at the start of the fourth quarter, and then the masterful Justin Anderson initiated a 10:2 run for the home team. In the end, we saw Devin Booker‘s injury, and the game heated up significantly with 26 seconds left when Vladimir Lucic brought his team to just a one point deficit from the free-throw line – 69:68. In the end, it was Lucic who had the shot for victory, but he missed in the last second.
The top scorer for Valencia was Chris Jones with 19 points, while Devin Booker stood out for Bayern with 16.
Valencia remains 11th in the EuroLeague standings with a record of 14-16, while Bayern is now at 13 wins and 16 losses.
In the next round, Valencia will visit Monaco, while Bayern will host Maccabi Tel Aviv.