By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Billy Baron and Kevin Punter 22 points apiece to lead Crvena Zvezda to a 92 – 76 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv at home for Round 28 of the EuroLeague regular season. Red Star improved to 11-7 and snapped a four-game skid by becoming the first team to beat Maccabi after five matches.
This triumph arrived on a special day for Crvena Zvezda since the club celebrated the 75th anniversary of its foundation.
“We’ve let a couple of games slip away during the season. Even when we played at their place, we had a chance to win at the end,” Baron said. “It was good to make up for some of those games that we lost. It was a good team effort. We played really smart on offense. [Kevin Punter] was huge tonight. [Vladimir] Stimac was big, [James] Gist was big, Lorenzo [Brown]. It was a whole team effort. It was a big win to keep us in the playoff race. We have six games left. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum through those last six games.”
Baron was the one to set the tone early for Crvena Zvezda with a phenomenal entrance of 19 points and 5/5 triples in the first 11 minutes as the hosts took a 30 – 23 lead. Punter then took over in the second half to pace the team towards a dominant performance, especially from beyond the arc (13/23 3-pointers).
Vladimir Stimac contributed a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds the Belgrade side took even a 23-point lead at the end of the third period.
Tyler Dorsey had 19 points and Scottie Wilbekin 11 for Maccabi. The “Yellows” fell victim to their many turnovers (19) and had an off shooting night (10/30 triples) that forced them to drop to 19 – 9.
“They started the game shooting well from outside, and not only in the first period, with Baron leading the way,” Maccabi coach Giannis Sfairopoulos commented. “The first half, they made seven from outside. Although they played good, we were still close, within six points at halftime. But in the third period, we allowed them to score 30 points and I think it was obvious that we were not ready, mentally, to play a tough game.”
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For Crvena Zvezda coach Dragan Sakota, a key reason behind the win was that his team retained its effectiveness after Baron’s 3-point barrage at the start.
“We were probably fresher than them,” Sakota said. “We played smarter than we did in the last few games that we lost and we corrected some things on offense when the opponents changed defenses. We adjusted very well. Our three-point shooting in the first half – around 70% — was not real, so we knew that number would come down, but in the end, we found other solutions with our inside game. We also played better defense in the second half, controlling their three-point shot. So I think we deserved this to be a clear victory.”
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball