By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Crvena Zvezda at home needs to get wins no matter what.
And that’s what happened as they prevailed 73-66 over ASVEL, keeping the guests to four out of 28 threes.
Isaiah Canaan with 11 points and the duo of Nikola Kalinic and Codi Miller-McIntyre who scored 10 points each were the top scorers of the hosts.
“Defense wins games. It’s gonna be some games like that, when you need to just grind it out. It wasn’t pretty, but we won. It’s a start to the double week and it’s great before we have to go on the road for our next game“, Canaan said after the game.
The point is that Zvezda, with a 15-10 record, made one more step toward the post-season while ASVEL with 11-14 lost more ground.
Theo Maledon had 13 points but 0/8 threes for the losing side, and newcomer Ben Bentil added 12 points.
Zvezda with a total effort
ASVEL led for the first few minutes, having a five-point advantage (14-9), however on a game that was all about defense, Zvezda was up by one (19-18) at the end of the first period and led even by 11 (34-23) after five minutes of action in the second.
However, the French side reacted with eight unanswered points (34-31), and at halftime, Zvezda was leading 36-31.
The hosts opened the second half, keeping ASVEL to two points for four minutes and jumping to a 12-point advantage (45-33). The guests trimmed it to four (47-44), and at the end of the third quarter, Zvezda was up by eight (56-48).
The Serbs opened the last period with four straight points (60-48) and extended their lead to 14 (66-52). ASVEL made one last run and made it a five-point game (66-61) with two minutes left, but Zvezda closed the night the right way.
“I’m proud of our defense and how we fought to stop a talented and athletic team. They can score easily, and our defense was one of the best this season. I’m very proud that we have one of the best defenses in the EuroLeague because defense wins games,” head coach of Crvena zvezda, Ioannis Sfairopoulos said at the postgame press conference.