Crvena Zvezda hold on the lead against the Maccabi Tel Aviv furious runs by controlling the paint, and they eventually overcame the Israeli champs 84-77 for EuroLeague round 29.
The “Reds” started the game by taking a 14-point (24-10) lead in the first quarter, with Nate Wolters and Austin Hollins combining for eight points during that stint.
Zvezda maintain a 16-point (35-19) lead until halfway of the second quarter, before Maccabi Tel Aviv made its own run and cut the deficit to three (42-39) at the intermission.
Wolters, Kalinic and White put Zvezda up nine (51-42) with back-to-back-to-back triples to light the fire under the Belgrade faithful early in the third quarter.
Maccabi answered with an 8-18 run to take its first and only lead (59-60) of the game after a layup by John DiBartolomeo. Stefan Lazerevic and Dejan Davidovac help the Serbian team to a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to take a 72-60 lead over their opponents.
With their fans at its side, Zvezda was able to maintain the lead until the end and get a important victory, their fourth in the last four games. Zvezda improved to 13-15, while Maccabi dropped to 12-14.
MVP: Crvena Zvezda saw several players helping in different points of the game, but, Nikola Kalinic was the most influential player with his all-around play. The Serbian national finished Thursday’s contest with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Key of the game: The Serbian champs outrebounded Maccabi 46-27 and tied the season-high in the league with 21 offensive rebounds.
“I am proud of my team and the whole staff. We have one more game here against Efes and we want to win also that game. We are back in the mix for the playoffs. We are happy about that. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks,” Kalinic said after the game.
Crvena Zvezda will travel to Spain next week to face the league-leading FC Barcelona at Palau Blaugrana.
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