Partizan Tops Milan 92-76 as Jones Nets 20 Points

For a few minutes, the Belgrade Arena went quiet. Marko Guduric drained back to back three pointers, Alec Peters joined in, and then Olimpia Milano tied the game. At 57-57, a match Partizan had controlled up to that point suddenly looked wide open, and the whole building seemed to be holding its breath compared to just ten minutes earlier.

The response came quickly. Kyle Allman took the game into his own hands and pushed the home side to a 63-58 lead heading into the final quarter, and then Carlik Jones took over down the stretch. His three pointer made it 70-61, and a run of assists and steady offense followed, giving Partizan a 15 point cushion with three minutes left. The hosts closed out the last quarter 29-18 and finished the game without any late drama.

Partizan won 92-76, opening its EuroLeague season exactly the way it had promised: with energy and defense. The quarter by quarter score read 20-16, 22-20, 21-22 and 29-18, for a 42-36 halftime lead and a 63-58 edge after three quarters. It was in that third period, when Milano clawed all the way back to a tie, that the home side showed it would not fold when the game got difficult.

Carlik Jones delivered the kind of performance the home fans had been hoping for: a double double of 20 points and 10 assists, without a single turnover. He hit 4 of 6 three pointers and all four of his free throws, and a performance index rating of 33 says as much about how complete his night was as the box score does. Lamar Stevens added 11 points and 5 rebounds. Kevarrius Hayes scored 10 points in just over 16 minutes, going 5 of 6 on two point shots and blocking two shots, while Kyle Allman finished with 8. Nikola Tanaskovic, who also grabbed 6 rebounds, 4 of them on the offensive glass, along with Arijan Lakic, Alessandro Pajola, Luca Vildoza and Tonye Jekiri, each scored 7. Nine players with at least seven points is proof this was not a one man win: Partizan shot 23 of 38 on two pointers and 11 of 24 from three, pulled down 30 rebounds, handed out 21 assists and forced 12 steals while committing only 10 turnovers. For Olimpia Milano, Marko Guduric led the way with 17 points and 5 assists, Alec Peters also scored 17, and Devon Hall added 13 points and 5 rebounds.

The only bad news came in the second quarter. Derek Willis got hurt, tried to play through it, even hit a three pointer after returning to the floor, but had to leave the game for good after only three minutes. The problem is with his ankle, and scans and tests are scheduled for Saturday.

“This is a marathon, we won one game, and there are 38 of them,” head coach Joan Peñarroya said at the post-match press conference.

This is a marathon, we won one game, and there are 38 of them. This is the way, this is the character we have to play with.

Pleased as he was with his team’s performance, Peñarroya made no secret that Willis’s injury complicates his plans for the coming weeks. Asked about the possibility of bringing in reinforcements, he said:

It’s clear we need to bring in one or two more players. Especially now, with Willis playing just three minutes. I’m worried about Willis.

Asked what he knew about the injured forward’s condition, the Spanish coach was in no hurry to speculate:

Derek, I don’t know. We’ll see. He’ll have scans, tests tomorrow. We have a problem with his ankle. I don’t know if it’s a big problem or just a few days.

As a reminder, Partizan went into this game without Vanja Marinkovic and Joffrey Lauvergne, both sidelined by injury before the match even started, as we reported ahead of the Milano game. Even so, the bench did exactly the job it was asked to do, with Nikola Tanaskovic and the other big men soaking up extra minutes in the paint.

Three straight road games await Partizan before the Arena fills up again for a home match. The first win is in the books; the first real test of character is still to come.