Paris defends home court to leave theLions disappointed on Boxing Day.
Matt Morgan and Luke Nelson’s 33 pointswasn’t enough to stop the group leaders – London now move to 9-4 in thisseason’s EuroCup.
An epic Boxing Day clash saw the LondonLions travel to Paris for what was expected to be another thriller between twoof the strongest teams in this year’s EuroCup. The two sides previously playedout an unforgettable double-overtime classic in London back in October, wherethe Parisians picked up an invaluable victory that sparked their current 12-1 Eurohot streak.
Fast forwarding two months; both teams respectfullysit in first and third in Group A.
A win for either side would have beenequally as significant, given both of their determination to find success on aEuropean level.
The game had an even start in a packed-outHalle Georges Carpentier, where the match was tied entering the fifth minute ofthe quarter. However, a Nadir Hifi triple opened the floodgates for Paris whobegan to capitalise on the Lions turnovers.
As the second quarter got underway, Paris’lead was already 31-22 and it looked like things was only going to get worsefor London. However, a strong performance saw the Brits go toe-to-toe with theFrench side and win the quarter.
Matt Morgan played a significant role inscoring, as London looked to get back into the game having gone into the half trailingby eight points.
However, that deficit only grew in thesecond half. With just three minutes passed in the third quarter, Paris hadmore than doubled their lead as the Lions now trailed by 18 points.
The visitors fought back to limit thedamage, although Paris still had control of the game heading into the final 10minutes. Entering the fourth quarter, London trailed by 15 points – but anearly flurry of buckets from the Brits brought their deficit down to just 11points with eight minutes to go.
However, this was short-lived as a NadirHifi-led offense outscored London in the remaining minutes.The 21-year-oldscored 26 points on the night to seal Paris’ 12th EuroCup victory ofthe season.
With the game ending in defeat for theLions, they will look to put the result behind them with the next round ofEuroCup fixtures not until mid-January.
Watch the highlights from Paris Basketball vsLondon Lions here.
