Maodo Lo set a career high by scoring 32 points in Belgrade. The 38 points of index rating and the six made threes (out of seven) are also career highs. Maodo Lo’s previous high was 27 points in a single game, played against Olympiacos. The 38 rating is the third highest ever by an Olimpia player in the EuroLeague. It was also the 55th “over 30” game in the top European competition. As a result of this performance, Maodo Lo was named Co-MVP of Round 10 alongside Shane Larkin. Before him, ten Olimpia players had won the award: Mike Hall, Omar Cook, Curtis Jerrells, Samardo Samuels, Alessandro Gentile, Jamel McLean, Ricky Hickman, Mike James, Nicolò Melli and Brandon Davies. Let’s relive his magical night.
Does anyone remember exactly the three-pointer of the seven attempted, missed by Maodo Lo? It was in the first quarter. The first three-point attempt of his game, which began regularly. At that time, he had two points scored from the line and a field goal two-point miss. Shortly after it, he created two opportunities that Alex Poythress capitalized on, including a dunk off a behind the head pass. Before the real show began, Maodo was already playing well, he had two points, two assists, one offensive rebound. With 1:30 left in the first quarter, score tied 14-14, he hit his first three. Devon Hall drove and kicked the ball out for his top of the key shot. Not even a minute later, he turned around a Nikola Mirotic screen. He set his feet, stopped on a dime, and fired. Three-pointer, eight personal points in the first period only. 20-19 Olimpia.
Returning with 6:09 left in the second quarter, on a transition, he went around a screen set by Nicolò Melli, changed direction laterally, created space for a one-leg runner that was right on target. The first “circus shot” of his game. Remember: Maodo Lo originally called himself a “streetball player.” This is why when he was very young, he didn’t attract much attention from the big club in his native Germany. He scored the second immediately after it, off an isolation play. He beat the defensive specialist Dejan Davidovac off the dribble and then finished with an underhanded floater with no use of the backboard. Again, against Davidovac, he scored the three good to earn an eight-point momentary lead with a sideline step-back. He had 15 points at the end of the first half.
He missed his first shot of the second half. It was the most difficult time for Olimpia, trailing by six points early. But after the 5-0 run completed by Mirotic and Shields, Maodo himself made the three to take the lead back. From that point on, Olimpia never trailed. It was a step-back shot against Joel Bolomboy. When the lead returned to four points, following an aborted initiative by Johannes Voigtmann, he cut in at the right time and “gave” an assist to his German teammate, turning his pass into the third “circus shot” of his game, a layup again forgetting the backboard, a high-arc trajectory that avoided Luke Mitrovic attempt to contest it. With 4:14 left in the third, he came up with another acrobatic shot to beat Joel Bolomboy one-on-one this time using magically the backboard.
In the fourth period, with the game still alive, he touched the 25th point scored of his monster performance making a three and then he doubled it with another step-back against Davidovac in front of the Red Star bench and then falling literally over the scorers’ table. It was the plus-11 field goal. Then he finished with four consecutive free throws to reach 32 points.
