Cluj, Simpson rolled to club's second-largest win
U-BT Cluj Napoca might have waited until Round 4 to register its first win of the new BKT EuoCup campaign, but the team did it style, beating the depleted Veolia Hamburg Towers by 36 points.
The star of the show was Zavier Simpson, who had 28 points on 7-of-11 shooting on twos and 3-of-4 on threes, while dishing 8 assists.
But, in addition to the performance of its star guard, Cluj's 67-103 win came behind control of the boards.
Hamburg was not shooting the ball well, making just 3-of-26 (11.5%) from long range, and in the early going the hosts struggled on the defensive glass. Hamburg pulled down 5 offensive rebounds in the first quarter, and 9 by halftime, but Cluj had already put the matter under control and used it to create many fastbreak opportunities and open a 20-point halftime lead.
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After the break, Hamburg never stopped trying, even down by 40 points, but Cluj allowed only 1 offensive rebound in the last two quarters. It lead to a 38-27 rebounding advantage for the visitors.
In addition, Cluj dominated inside, finishing the game with 74.4% two-point shooting. Along with 42.9% from long range, it helped Cluj overcome 18 turnovers in its second-largest win in the competition. The only win bigger than this one was Cluj's 60-98 victory at Dolomiti Energia Trento last season.