The Serbian side grabbed its first win of the season, rallying in the final 15 minutes to get the job done
Crvena Zvezda leaned on its experience and know-how in Paris
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Regular Season
Round 1 of 34
Group Regular Season
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In its opening game of the new Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade found itself in a critical situation midway through the third quarter.
Paris Basketball led 51-38 midway through the period, pushed on by a sellout crowd at the brand-new Adidas Arena and led by an outstanding TJ Shorts.
Despite being without its most experienced player, playmaker Milos Teodosic, Zvezda found a way to get back into the game and eventually grab a 77-80 victory.
Zvezda did what all experienced teams have to do when their backs are against the wall: improve its aggressiveness at both ends and try to go to the foul line as often as possible. Zvezda hit five free throws in a decisive 0-11 run highlighted by Codi Miller-McIntyre's fast-break layup, euro-stepping away from Nadir Hifi to get a lightning quick basket.
Once the game was close, Zvezda found a go-to guy in Nemanja Nedovic, who got plenty of help from the most experienced players on the team. Paris regained a 58-53 lead late in the third quarter but Nedovic buried a couple of three-pointers and added a floater in traffic, with Luka Mitrovic and Miller-McIntyre making telling contributions for a 63-67 Zvezda lead.
Nedovic had time for a fifth three-pointer in as many shots, then Nikola Kalinic beat the shot clock with another bomb from downtown. Zvezda managed the end of the game very well, keeping a slim lead and using fouls to prevent Paris from tying the game. When Hifi took a potentially game-tying shot, the final buzzer had sounded and it didn't go in, anyway.
"We have these experienced players that played a lot of years in the EuroLeague and who have played a lot of games like that," Zvezda head coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos told EuroLeague TV after the game. "We took the right decisions defensively and offensively, and that was very important."
Nedovic finished the game with 21 points on 5-of-6 three-pointers. Isaiah Canaan added 14 points for Zvezda, hitting two critical free throws down the stretch. As always, Kalinic did a little bit of everything, finishing the game with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and a PIR of 17.
"The EuroLeague is back, the intensity is back, the energy is back," Kalinic stated. "We knew they were going to go out there full of energy. They want to win in their new arena, in front of their fans, so when we managed to control that the pace and the rhythm of the game, we were good.
"We played an amazing second half, so I'm very proud of the guys. I think finally in the second half, we found our chemistry. We figured out what's working for us offensively and defensively, so we have to build on that."
"Winning away in the first game of the season is huge for us for our confidence," added Nedovic. "And we have to build on this, we cannot stop now. We didn't give up. It has to do a little bit with our experience. We are an experienced team. We know how to fight in tough situations and that's what we did today."
Zvezda outrebounded Paris 29-43, pulling down 15 offensive rebounds and allowing Paris to get just 17 defensive boards. It shot the ball better from downtown, too, thanks in large part to Nedovic's accuracy. Zvezda buried 10-of-22 three-pointers (45.5%) and Paris only hit 6-of-23 shots from beyond the arc (26.7%).
Zvezda will again be without Teodosic in its home opener against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in Round 2, so it will be hoping that its most experienced players can step up once again.