The visitors scored 37 points in the last period to pull out the win
Crvena Zvezda downs Virtus on the road, 87-94
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade escaped with a valuable 87-94 victory at Virtus Segafredo Bologna in a game in which it needed to erase a 10-point deficit in the last quarter. The hosts dominated 75-65 with 6:38 minutes remaining, but a five-point play at that moment and an offensive demonstration led by Isaiah Canaan allowed Zvezda to come back and take advantage of Virtus’s nerves.
With this win, the visitors improved to 7-7 whereas Virtus – with new head coach Dusko Ivanovic having to watch on from a courtside seat while interim boss Nenad Jakovljevic took charge – remains at the bottom of the standings with a 2-12 mark and six defeats in a row.
Canaan was the game's top scorer with 26 points on 4-of-9 shooting from long range, while Luka Mitrovic and Filip Petrusev complemented him from inside. Mitrovic posted 21 points and 8 rebounds, with Petrusev recording 21 points and 6 boards. Toko Shengelia paced Virtus with 25 points, while Will Clyburn recorded a double-double of 19 points and 12 boards for a PIR of 38. Isaia Cordinier and Ante Zizic were also in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
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The game featured a nice battle between Zizic and Petrusev, who challenged each other in the early going to lead both sides. Clyburn joined the Croatian center and provided a triple, a bucket and two free throws to help Virtus earn a 13-11 advantage before the first timeout took place, as the visitors just found Kalinic to accompany Petrusev. Mitrovic ended a two-minute scoring drought with a slam to tie it, but Cordinier and two consecutive strong moves by Momo Diouf inside gave the hosts a slim lead, 19-13. The visitors didn’t step back, though, as Mitrovic scored inside, and Codi Miller-McIntyre beat the buzzer with a triple that finished the first period with Virtus up 19-18.
The run continued early in the second, with Rokas Giedraitis completing the rally and boosting Zvezda to a 19-23 lead from the free-throw line. The home team needed two minutes to score its first basket through Zizic, but it wasn’t enough to slow down the visitors, as Mitrovic showed up with 9 points in a row to make it 24-32 after 15 minutes. The hosts leaned on their veterans to try to prevent Zvezda from pulling away, with Cordinier coming to the scene to help Shengelia and Clyburn, while the guests found Canaan to keep their momentum going. Two free throws by Clyburn made it a one-possession game, 38-40, but Canaan answered from the same place and Petrusev closed the first half with a dunk to maintain Zvezda's advantage, 38-44.
Dobric made it an eight-point lead again right after the game resumed, with Shengelia giving his best to support Virtus on the other end. Zizic joined him later with consecutive inside buckets to prevent Zvezda from escaping, as the score remained in favor of the visitors, 46-52, midway through the third period. Clyburn converted from two right before a TV timeout, which turned into the start of a perfect storm for Virtus. Cordinier scored twice from the line and later added a triple, as Clyburn and Shengelia made the most of an unsportsmanlike foul by Milos Teodosic that completed a 13-0 run to turn the tables, 59-52, allowing Virtus to enter the last stanza leading 63-57.
Dejan Davidovac completed a three-point play and Canaan showed up again early in the fourth period to bring Zvezda within 65-63, but Virtus’s mood didn’t change. Marco Belinelli and Shengelia imitated Davidovac and provided 6 points on two plays to recover a safe margin, while Alessandro Pajola joined later with 4 points in a row to make it a double-digit lead for the first time in the game, 75-65, with less than 7 minutes remaining. The hosts didn’t tremble, though, and used a five-point play to flip the momentum, then gave the keys to Canaan, who scored 7 points and fed Petrusev for a triple that brought the lead back to the Serbian side, 82-83. Even though Shengelia made it all square twice, nerves got the best of Virtus. Kalinic drilled a long three to make it 85-88 with 1:28 to play, then Petrusev added two from the line and Canaan took the reins again to cap a 0-7 spark that definitely put Virtus to bed entering the last minute.