MVP of the Week: Mike James!
On the strength of a near triple-double that matched the sixth-best performance in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague history, Mike James of CSKA Moscow roared to another MVP of the Week honor by dominating the Leningradka Derby on Friday. James posted the highest performance index rating of the season, 51 as CSKA defeated host Khimki Moscow Region 87-96 for its eighth consecutive victory. The EuroLeague's MVP for November poured in 36 points, dished 10 assists and pulled 9 rebounds. His points and PIR were not only career highs but also new club records for CSKA. His PIR matched the sixth-highest in EuroLeague history. The second-best performance of the week belonged to Shavon Shields, who had career highs of 26 points and 34 PIR as AX Armani Exchange Milan beat Khimki on the road Tuesday by 93-102 in a rescheduled Round 8 game. Shields missed only 1 shot while making 6 of 6 two-pointers, 4 of 5 triples and both of his free throws. Barcelona teammates Brandon Davies and Nikola Mirotic came next with PIRs of 28 as their team rallied to beat Milan 87-71 on Friday. Davies had 21 points and 6 rebounds while Mirotic collected a double-double of 19 points and 10 boards. Equaling their PIR was Achille Polonara of TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, who combined 15 points with 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks although his team lost at home, 63-67, to Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv on Thursday.
CSKA's James led all scorers this week with his 36 points against Khimki, which were also the most scored in any EuroLeague game this season. James also stays atop the season leaderboard with 20.6 points per game.
