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Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs - Game 1 MVP: Kevin Punter, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade

Kevin Punter lifted Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade to a thrilling 87-89 series opening road win over Real Madrid and in the process earned the honor as the MVP of Game 1 of the playoffs. Punter drained a game-winning three-pointer with 0.4 seconds on the clock and finished the game with 26 points. He knocked down 5-of-8 three-pointers, made 9 of 9 free throws and tied his career-high with 6 assists. Punter's career-high PIR of 33 was the best among players on winning teams in Game 1, securing him his second MVP of the Round honor.

Also with a PIR of 33 in that game, but in a losing effort, was Real's Gabriel Deck, who scored 24 points on 8-for-8 two-point shooting, tied for the third-best in a playoff game since 2005. Deck also made 8 of 11 free throws, grabbed 8 rebounds, dished 1 assist and collected 1 steal. The next best PIR, 26, belonged to Wade Baldwin of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. In his team's 67-79 road win at AS Monaco, Baldwin collected 20 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds. Five different players had PIRs of 20: Sertac Sanli of FC Barcelona, Monaco's Alpha Diallo, Real's Walter Tavares, Marko Guduric of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and Moustapha Fall of Olympiacos Piraeus.

Individual highs: Thomas Walkup of Olympiacos, 4 steals

Kevin Punter of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade led all players in the playoffs with 26 points in Game 1. Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos Piraeus remained the EuroLeague's scoring leader with 17.7 points per game. Gabriel Deck of Real Madrid and Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv center Josh Nebo each had 8 rebounds in their respective team's series opener. Partizan center Mathias Lessort leads the league with 7.1 rebounds per game.

Four players - Punter, Maccabi's Wade Baldwin, Alpha Diallo of AS Monaco and Marko Guduric of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul – each had 6 assists in Game 1. Darius Thompson of Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz tops the season-long charts with 6.7 assists per game. Olympiacos guard Thomas Walkup led all players with 4 steals. Walkup leads the EuroLeague with 1.9 steals per game. In Game 1, there were 12 players with a blocked shot, but no players had multiple blocks.

Euroleague Basketball (EB) is a global leader in the sports and entertainment business, devoted to running the top European competitions of professional basketball clubs under a unique and innovative organizational model. Owned and administered by some of the most successful and historic clubs in the world, EB manages the continent’s two premier men’s basketball competitions, the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7DAYS EuroCup, as well as the sport’s premier under-18 showcase, the EB Adidas Next Generation Tournament.

The EB competitions bring the elite of European basketball to all five continents and to the entire sports community through the OTT platform EuroLeague TV. EB also organizes a series of community and educational activities, led by the One Team program, in alignment with the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. On the academic side, the EB Sports Business MBA trains future professionals in sports management.