For the second time this week, CSKA Moscow guard Daniel Hackett has walked off with the MVP of the Round award for his outsized role in CSKA Moscow holding back visiting LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 90-83 on Friday to sweep the double round. Hackett had the second-best night of his 11-season Turkish Airlines EuroLeague career by compiling a 38 performance index rating, the best of all players in Round 21. He had been the Round 20 MVP, a first in his long career, as well. Hackett piled up 27 points for CSKA based on making 6 of 8 two-point shots, 3 of 4 triples and 6 of 7 free throws. He also picked up 5 rebounds, second-best on the team, and 4 assists, which tied for CSKA’s best, while also drawing 8 fouls. Corey Walden of FC Bayern Munich followed with a PIR of 34, his career high, but couldn’t prevent his team’s 78-83 home loss to AS Monaco. Walden’s 26 points and 4 steals were also his personal bests. Guerschon Yabusele celebrated his recent contract extension by having his best game in a Real Madrid uniform to lead an 89-74 home win against Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. Yabusele hit a perfect 7 of 7 two-pointers and pulled 8 rebounds in the victory. Monaco’s Mike James posted a PIR of 23, fourth-best in Round 21, in his team’s road win at Bayern based on his 26 points and 6 assists. And James Gist of ASVEL registered a 22 PIR thanks to 14 points and 8 rebounds in his team’s loss at CSKA.
Individual highs: Anthony Randolph, Real, 12 rebounds
Hackett led all scorers in Round 21 with 27 points for CSKA. Nikola Mirotic of FC Barcelona is the season-long top scorer with 17.8 points per game. Anthony Randolph of Real pulled the most rebounds in the round, with 12, the third-best total of his career. Georgios Papagiannis leads the rebounding charts with 8.0 per game. Monaco’s James and Baskonia’s Wade Baldwin both dished 6 assists to lead Round 21’s passers. James is in the first place for the season, too, with 6.1 assists per game. Bayern’s Walden led Round 21 with 4 steals, while John Brown of UNICS Kazan leads those rankings with 2.7 per game. And Real center Vincent Poirier’s 2 blocks were the best of Round 21 while his teammate Walter Tavares is the season-longer leader with 1.9 on average. Randolph, with 13 points to go with 12 rebounds, had Round 21’s sole double-double.
