Without Léo Westermann, hit in the thigh on Wednesday during the defeat on the floor of Maccabi Tel Aviv (84-95), Monaco sank in the arena of Efes Istanbul (98-77). It is a second straight setback in the Euroleague for ASM, provisionally 11th, the fifth in six away games, the only success being against Kazan in overtime in early October.

Istanbul, the last Euroleague winner, was not the ideal destination to turn the tide. After a catastrophic start to the season, the club has regained its cruising speed and this Friday signed its fifth straight victory in all competitions, the third in the Euroleague.

The Monegasques started the game very badly, being 20 points behind just before the break. They began a comeback in the third quarter, coming back to six lengths (60-54, 26th), before releasing again.

Another black point of the meeting, the incident, at the start of the fourth quarter, between the star Mike James, until then bad (4 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 lost ball) and the coach, Zvezdan Mitrovic. Leaving the field for the benefit of Paris Lee, James asked the coach for explanations. The tone rose between the two strong-tempered men and the player went to the locker room for a few minutes. He returned to the end of the bench a few minutes later, without coming back into play.

Beaubois and Moerman efficient

On the Istanbul side, the French Rodrigue Beaubois and Adrien Moerman participated in the victory. Moerman, who started from the bench, scored 14 points, took 7 rebounds, distilled an assist and made an interception (19 evaluation).