Offensive rebounds and steals lifted Zvezda to huge win

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade did a lot of things very well on Thursday night, eventually surviving a late scare to end a four-game losing run with a huge 86-89 victory at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv – enough to move within one game of the Israeli side and claim the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Not only was Maccabi the team with the best home record in the competition, but also the EuroLeague leader in offensive rebounds. Zvezda was very conscious of that fact and from the opening tip-off worked with fierce determination to protect its backboard, not allowing Maccabi to claim any offensive boards in the first quarter. And the Serbian team continued with the same spirit throughout the game, also crashing the glass at the other end. Luka Mitrovic snared 5 offensive rebounds in a team total of 14, while Maccabi was restricted to just 8 offensive boards.

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Zvezda’s dynamic aggression was not restricted to rebounding, as the visiting team also worked tirelessly to make Maccabi uncomfortable in possession, eventually grabbing 13 steals and forcing the home team into 16 turnovers while only committing 10.

The plus 6 differentials in both offensive rebounding and turnovers in Zvezda’s favor played a key role in the outcome, because all those boards and steals allowed the visitors to take far more shots at the basket – 68 field goal attempts compared to 52 for Maccabi. 

And when the game became tight in the closing seconds, Zvezda did one more thing very well: shooting free throws. Specifically, Luca Vildoza held his nerve to make all 6 of his attempts from the foul line, ensuring his team took a priceless victory back to Belgrade.

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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv v Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (2023-02-09T19:05:00.000Z)

Nunnally rejoined the Partizan party 

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade defeated FC Bayern Munich 71-82 at Audi Dome to rise to 13-11 in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season standings. James Nunnally has had a lot to do with his team's great moment.

Nunnally played for almost 28 minutes and finished the game with 15 points on near-perfect shooting. He made 3 of 3 two-pointers, 2 of 3 shots from beyond the arc and 3 of 3 free throws and added 3 rebounds, 1  assist and 2 fouls drawn for a PIR of 18. His three-pointers were particularly welcome on a day in which Partizan struggled from long distance, making just 4 of 14 attempts (28.6% 3FG).

James Nunnally had 15 points in Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade's 71-82 road victory against FC Bayern Munich in Round 24.

Nunnally stands out against Bayern

Nunnally struggled for over a month, averaging 3.7 points on 4-of-11 three-pointers (36.4% 3FG) and a PIR of 1.7 between Round 15 and 21. Things have been a lot different in the last three games, in which Nunnally averaged 11.7 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting (66.7% 3FG) and a PIR of 12.3. A EuroLeague champion with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in 2017, Nunnally knows what it takes to win with Coach Zeljko Obradovic and is bringing out his best version as the regular season gets closer to the end which, of course, it is great news for the Partizan faithful.

FC Bayern Munich v Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (2023-02-09T19:30:00.000Z)

It is said that in modern basketball, you cannot win without hitting a lot of three-point shots, but Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade has been proving it wrong throughout the entire Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, over and over again.

Partizan defeated FC Bayern Munich 71-82 despite making  just 4 three-point shots. Only four teams have won in the EuroLeague this season with 4 three-pointers or fewer. Zalgiris Kaunas, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid each won one game apiece. This is Partizan's fourth victory hitting no more than 4 shots from beyond the arc. James Nunnally hit 2 while Kevin Punter and Dante Exum buried one apiece from downtown.

Partizan previously made 3 three-pointers in beating Bayern 83-77 in Round 16. It buried 4 three-pointers in two more wins, 82-79 over Anadolu Efes Istanbul in Round 14 and 72-73 over Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Round 15. Partizan struggled from three-point territory (4-of-14, 28.6%), but attacked the rim all game long, going to the foul lines 27 times and it was effective from there (81.5%). Bayern shot 15 free throw attempts and made 12 (80%).

Partizan: no need for threes

Second-quarter run lifted Barcelona in Bologna

FC Barcelona extended its winning streak to three games after crushing Virtus Segrafredo Bologna 75-92 at Virtus Segrafredo Arena on Thursday night. The visitors gave no chance to their opponent, amassing a 20-point advantage at halftime and reaching a game-high 37-point difference late in the third quarter that made the fourth just an administrative process with no real impact on the final outcome.

It didn’t look like it was going to be a blowout early in the second quarter when Jordan Mickey nailed a three that made it 23-24. But, at that moment, Virtus wasted five consecutive possessions to get in front and Barcelona reacted fiercely, outscoring the hosts 0-21 to put the game upside down.

Alex Abrines started the fire with a three and a two-pointer and soon after it was Rokas Jokubaitis and Nikola Mirotic who joined the party. This trio combined for 18 points in that span, with Nicolas Laprovittola contributing a triple to help Barcelona establish a 23-45 score that was too much for the home team.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna v FC Barcelona (2023-02-09T19:30:00.000Z)

Barcelona punishes Virtus, 75-92

FC Barcelona avenged its Round 17 home loss against Virtus Segafredo Bologna and came away from the Virtus Segafredo Arena with a blowout win, 75-92, in a game that was decided long before the final whistle. The visitors led just by one, 23-24, early in the second period, but a 0-21 run in 7 minutes destroyed Virtus. Barcelona improved to 16-8 to keep chasing first place in the standings and Virtus dropped to 11-13 and ended a two-game winning streak at home.

Nikola Mirotic led Barcelona with 17 points in just 19 minutes, followed by Alex Abrines, Rokas Jokubaitis and Nicolas Laprovittola, who provided 16, 13 and 10 points, respectively. Virtus had Mam Jaiteh as its main contributor with 14 points, with Iffe Lundberg escorting him with 13 points, Marco Belinelli pouring in 12 and Toko Shengelia 10 points.

Virtus started strong in the paint thanks to Shengelia and Jaiteh combining for the 6 first points by the hosts. Barcelona counterattacked from the perimeter, with Laprovittola and Mirotic striking from all over the place and boosting a 3-13 run that established a 9-18 edge for the visitors. Rotations helped Virtus to get some momentum, as Ismael Bako contributed to close the first period with a score of 17-22. 

Lundberg and Jordan Mickey made the difference even shorter, 23-24, early in the second, but Virtus wasted as many as five consecutive offenses to get back in front. The visitors took advantage of that to launch a terrific charge, which turned into a 0-21 run in 7 minutes that completely destroyed the hosts. Abrines played a key role in that span, going for 13 points in the second period and setting a 20-point advantage for Barcelona, 27-47, at halftime. 

Despite the local fans hoping for a different approach by their team in second half, it was totally the opposite. Rokas Jokubaitis claimed a starring role and scored 8 points in a 0-13 run that boosted the difference to 28-60 after 23 minutes. The home team needed more than 5 minutes to score its first field goal with only Shengelia able to score for Virtus. 

Another spark led by Nikola Kalinic raised the advantage to a game-high 37 points, 33-70, right before Jaiteh helped Virtus reduce it to 39-72 at the end of the third period. With the outcome no longer doubt, Virtus finally unleashed its offensive power and managed to outscore Barcelona 36-18, but it was obviously a very late effort.

Zvezda claims huge road win at Maccabi, 86-89

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade ended a four-game losing run with a thrilling 86-89 road win over Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv on Thursday. Zvezda improved to 11-12 and to within one win of Maccabi (12-11) and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Nemanja Nedovic blasted Zvezda into a double-digit lead with 18 first-half points. The gap grew to 16 in the third quarter, but Maccabi fought back to a 1-point margin in the final minute before Zvezda held on. Nedovic finished with 28 points, with Luka Mitrovic (14 points) Ognjen Dobric (13), Filip Petrusev (12) and Luca Vildoza (10) all scoring in double figures. An outstanding Wade Baldwin led Maccabi’s resistance with a career-high and club-record 38 points. 

Dobric scored the first 5 points, but a 9-1 run saw Maccabi go ahead. Nedovic scored 8 fast points to make it 18-18 after 10 minutes and then added two more triples in a 0-12 run for a 23-33 lead. Petrusev and Dobric both scored twice to make it 34-44 at the break. 

Two baskets from Baldwin early in the second half narrowed the gap, 41-48, but Petrusev and Mitrovic both scored twice for a 41-57 margin and two scores from Ognjen Kuzmic made it 55-69 at the end of the third. 

Three-pointers from Baldwin and Darrun Hilliard reduced the gap to 67-73, before two baskets for Mitrovic seemed to seal the deal. But Baldwin and Roman Sorkin pulled Maccabi back to 82-83, only for Dobric’s tough basket with 12 seconds to all but settle the outcome.

Alex Abrines, Barcelona: 'We came out with the right mentality'

### FC Barcelona head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius:

"I think we played very good basketball for most of the game. We didn’t expect a result like this here, but I think we were as solid as we can be right now, from the first three quarters and now we have to build on this. I don’t think you can send any messages. I think everybody knows that we can play with everybody, we just need to build a little bit more consistency. Not many teams will come out and have this result here in Bologna.

"When you come to play against a good team like Virtus, you don’t expect this kind of result, but we were really solid, offensively, offensively. I think it was one of those games in which a lot of things go your way and a lot of things of the other team don’t go their way. Despite this, I think we must give a lot of credit to our guys, they were really serious, they were concentrated, they were physical and that was the difference."

### Virtus Segafredo Bologna head coach Sergio Scariolo:

"Congratulations to Saras and Barcelona, they played a great game on both ends of the floor, with every player involved. They are a top-level team, with top-level players, and they gave us a good glimpse of what a top EuroLeague team is all about, and this is good for every one of us, to learn from this, and obviously coach first. Even if I appreciate the effort of the last quarter, the analysis I have to make is about the first half. We have to think, we have to learn, we have to improve, we have to increase our energy, our execution and our efficiency on both ends of the floor. At the end of the day, it's just one loss, it's one game. We have to keep learning, and fighting, and move on to the next one without being influenced too much from this one."

### FC Barcelona forward Nikola Mirotic:

"Our mentality today was to play great defense and from defense try to score. Having lost the game against them at home, it was important for us to win tonight and I think we did it pretty well and I’m happy for this win. I think it’s all about how we move the ball, today we were sharing the ball, running a lot so this is the key how we should play, play unselfish, play for each other and the number of assists tonight shows how we played tonight and hopefully we can continue to play as a team this way."

### FC Barcelona forward Alex Abrines:

"We knew it was going to be difficult, so we came out with the right energy. Obviously, we made some shots but I think our biggest thing is that we shared the ball, especially in the first three quarters, moving the ball, finding the open man and when you shoot alone it's easier to have good percentages. They beat us at home and we didn’t play good, we wanted to play good and we came out with the right mentality. Every win matters in the EuroLeague right now and a road win is very important."

EuroLeague Live Blog: ALBA vs. Olympiacos tips off Round 24

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Thursday Blog: Zvezda, Barca and Partizan claim big road wins

Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Real Madrid (2023-02-09T17:30:00.000Z)

### Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade head coach Zeljko Obradovic:

"Like any game in the EuroLeague, for us it was an important game. It happened that before the game, we had some kind of problems: Papapetrou was not even able to travel with us and yesterday night we made practice just with eight players, because Zach LeDay, Alen Smailagic and Uros Trifunovic felt very bad and stayed in the hotel. So I want to thank all of these guys for being able to help the team. They found the energy and power to play a game today. Obviously, I want to congratulate my team because I believe we played a very good game, especially at the end of the second quarter and the third quarter, in which it was the difference. But on the other side, it is correct to say that Bayern played without four very important players for them. if I talked that we missed, let's say, one important player, I imagine how it is for Andrea Trinchieri to play without, for him probably, key players. So I am very happy to take the win tonight and of course, I need to mention the incredible support that we had from our people. Thanks to them, they follow us everywhere. Over here, it was a very nice atmosphere tonight and I want to thank people from Bayern for the hospitality they had before the game and during the game."

### FC Bayern Munich head coach Andrea Trinchieri:

"We played against, at this moment, the team with the best shape in the entire EuroLeague, and I would say in the end, the last minute and 40 seconds of the second quarter and the third quarter were the key factors of this loss, because we were tied 33-33 and made 4 offensive fouls in a row. And we gave them also six gifted free throws. And in the third quarter, they were better and we didn't find a way to play offense. So I can say we missed 4-5 players but I believe that even if you miss 25 players, you can make fouls. Performances come and go, we had a very good month, now we are a little bit struggling, it is part of this insane schedule but the thing is, when you are not able to use fouls before the bonus to help your defense, that is short in rotation, you miss big guys, you miss swings and all these things, it becomes impossible to play. That is the only thing that I have to say to my team. All the rest was part of this tough game against a very good opponent, and congratulations to Partizan."

### Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade guard Kevin Punter:

"I just trying to be as consistent as possible and be focused. Thanks to my teammates for being locked in and being ready to go on the road. They \[Partizan fans\] go with us everywhere. They understand how important it is to win on the road. For us, we are glad they were able to come and just wanted to win for them."

### Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade center Mathias Lessort:

"It's amazing, really. I have never seen that in my life, playing away, we felt like we were playing home. They bring us their support even when we were away. When we are home, everybody knows how loud it can get but now, they showed that even on the road, they will be there to support us. We can't thank them enough, that's amazing. Like I have been saying, we are just taking it one game at a time. We focus on the next game. We won tonight, and then we are going to be focused on the next game and take it one game at a time. We don't focus on streaks, we just try to keep growing and improving every game. I think we play some solid defense. We got some energy, they had some runs at some point but we stayed solid and we were focused. Like I said, when we are focused and execute and play with intensity, we are a tough team to beat."