Tau Ceramica came into Milano for its game against Armani Jeans confident after beating the same club two weeks ago at home. And this time it would have All-Euroleague center Tiago Splitter on the floor after missing time with injury. Splitter made his presence felt early the way all great players are taught to. He established his scoring ability against the Milano big men and once they showed him too much attention, he dumped the ball off to others. Splitter scored 11 points and assisted twice to frontcourt mate Will McDonald as Tau raced out to a 16-31 advantage after 10 minutes. He continued to dominate early in the second period, first taking a feed from Igor Rakocevic for an easy basket and then creating two more opportunities for McDonald as Tau carved open Milano’s defense to take a 20-point lead that allowed it to coast to a big win. GAME VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

If the season gets more defensive-minded and scoring more difficult with each new phase, then it helps to have creativity on offense at this moment in the Top 16. Olympiacos can count itself fortunate to have perhaps the two best passers at their positions all decade: point guard Theodoros Papaloukas and center Nikola Vujcic. With the Reds clinging to a 43-42 lead at halftime on their own floor, that duo created something valuable as gold this time of the season: easy baskets against half-court defense. Vujcic went around his back and Asseco Prokom's defense to set up the first three-point play of the second half, by Giorgos Printezis, then he helped with the first of two passes between Papaloukas and Yotam Halperin that supplied a 52-44 lead that Prokom didn't seriously challenge again, keeping Olympiacos tied for first place in their group. GAME VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

With more than 10,000 of its fans in the stands, Alba Berlin was within 10-11 early in Thursday's game at o2 World. Visiting powerhouse Regal FC Barcelona could either let those fans and Alba get in the game for good...or not. Using its incredible defense as a catalyst, Barcelona spent less than 2 minutes showing which team was boss. After David Andersen hit a smooth jumper, another Barcelona big man, Daniel Santiago, did the defensive dirty work. First, he rejected one would-be Alba shooter close to the basket, then went the other way and kicked out a pass to Lubos Barton for a three-pointer. The next time Alba tried to score, Santiago and Victor Sada stopped the shot before it happened and Sada finished a fastbreak at the other end with Barcelona up 10-18, not to be threatened for the rest of the game. GAME VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

Maccabi trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half against Real Madrid, but there was always the sense that, on its home court, Maccabi would make a run. That proved true when Madrid's lead was cut to just 3 points, at 53-56, on the first play of the fourth quarter, an up-and-under basket by Marcus Brown. That, however, is when Raul Lopez stepped up for Madrid with a pair of extra-huge three-pointers. The first, Lopez aimed over Maccabi center D'or Fischer, and the second he popped without hesitation from the top using a screen. Later, when Maccabi got even closer, Lopez had one of several offensive rebounds that made the difference for Madrid - along with the big cushion he gave his team to stop Maccabi's fourth-quarter comeback try. GAME VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

As all coaches like to say, major wins often come down to the little things. That was as evident as ever whe Partizan stopped host Unicaja in an intense battle for survival in Malaga, Spain on Wednesday. Unicaja needed a win to stay alive in the competition while Partizan knew it could reach the next round with a victory. During the end of regulation time, the teams were so nervous that neither could put in any of several shots to avoid a 65-65 tie and send the game to overtime. There, suddenly, Partizan found the keys to hit 3 three-pointers in a row - by Uros Tripkovic, Aleksandar Rasic and Milenko Tepic - for a sudden 66-74 lead in OT. But there were still 3 minutes left and Unicaja, backed by an outstanding crowd, mounted one last comeback behind Carlos Jimenez and Boni Ndong to pull within 74-76. It all came down to the final seconds again. When Rasic missed a corner triple, Unicaja was going to get its chance to win - or so it seemed. Instead, Jan Vesely slapped the offensive rebound to midcourt where Unicaja, where Tepic was fouled with 5.5 seconds to go. Tepic's first free throw made it a three-point game, but when he missed his second, there again was Vesely, grabbing his second offensive rebound in a few seconds to seal the outcome with another foul shot, 74-78. Despite just 3 points, 3 rebounds and 5 turnovers against Unicaja, the 17-year-old made sure to do the little things that clinch playoff berths. GAME VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

When talking of matchup advantages, no team exploits them better than Panathinaikos, as when Dimitris Diamantidis, a player known more for his defense, directs the offense from the low post. Diamantidis is a rare point guard with post-up skills, so when Lottomatica Roma threatened Panathinaikos at 40-47 early in the third quarter of their Group G game on Thursday, Greens coach Zeljko Obradovic knew in whose hands he wanted the ball. First, Diamantidis posted up, turned to the baseline and pass to Kostas Tsartsaris in the opposite corner for a triple. On the next office, from the same low-post position, he kicked out to Drew Nicholas for another big three-pointer, boosting the difference to 40-53 and making it that much harder for Roma to rally. Panathinaikos ended up winning big and reaching the Quarterfinal Playoffs. GAME VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

It is a famous say in basketball: offense wins games but defense wins titles, too. Of course, when you put together outstanding defense and incredible three-point accuracy - and the name of the team is CSKA Moscow - no opponent has a chance. That is what happened right after halftime in CSKA's make-or-break first-place showdown with Montepaschi Siena on Wednesday. CSKA had trailed for the better part of the first half and led by just 45-44 at halftime, but the hosts returned to the floor with a different mentality after the break. Montepaschi went scoreless in the opening 3 minutes of the third quarter, while a tough jumper by Matjaz Smodis and a layup by Trajan Langdon got CSKA started. Montepaschi kept struggling to score while Ramunas Siskauskas, Langdon, Smodis and J.R. Holden buried a three-pointer apiece to break the game open, 61-47. On its way to a Top 16 record-tying 17 triples in the game, CSKA sank 7 in the third quarter while putting on one of the best basketball exhibitions, offense and defense, seen in recent years. GAME VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

Fenerbahce Ulker was being overmatched by Cibona Zagreb all day long, until Emir Preldzic finally got the hosts going with an 8-0 run in the middle of the third quarter. Though Cibona's 39-58 lead was by no chance in danger, you can see a thin ray of hope shine on Fenerbahce players and fans. But it didn't take Cibona long to take that hope away from them. After a timeout, the guests knew exactly what play to call - the same play they use in most crucial situations - send the ball to Nikola Prkacin on the right block. First, the mighty big man drew a foul on his defender. Next, he received it again from the baseline and used the same move to put up a lefty hook. Then, after Earl Calloway and Mirsad Turkcan exchanged shots, Prkacin got the ball for yet another trademark left hook, widening the difference further to 41-65 to choke what was left of Fenerbahce's hope. GAME VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS