By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Lorenzo Brown made just 12 points, but two of them proved to be the most crucial in the 61-59 win of Crvena Zvezda against Zalgiris Kaunas, as both teams are now tied at 3-7.
“For a team like Zvezda, there’s no defeat which is taken easily, no matter where and no matter how,” said coach Andrija Gavrilovic. “I am really happy that after three defeats, we have this win, and this gives us some confidence and the opportunity to work more. We lost three games in five days, and I think that was a factor for such an ugly game. Both teams were feeling pressure, and both tried to fight”.
As ugly as it gets
The game was tense and sloppy for three quarters, with the guests entering the last period having a 47-46 lead. Until that point, both teams combined for 4/32 threes, shooting both near 15% from the long-range. Zvezda’s Billy Baron with 13 points on 1/6 threes, but also 4/4 two-pointers was the leading scorer of the game, and things ended up being ever uglier.
A three by Charles Jenkins gave the Serbs a five-point advantage (51-46) for the first time in the game with nine minutes left. However, Zalgiris tied the score at 53, and thanks to just their third made three of the game – and first for Arturas Milaknis – got a 56-53 lead. It was time for Zvezda to react and tie the score again at 56, just 2.41′ before the final buzzer.
More than a minute had to pass for someone to score as Edgaras Ulanovas gave the lead back to Zalgiris by two (58-56), and Mouhammad Faye answered from the free throws line (58-58). Lorenzo Brown made the biggest shot of the game, and Marius Grigonis, with six seconds left on the clock, made one of two free throws (60-59). Billy Baron was fouled, also made one of two (61-59), and with 4.4 seconds left for a play, Lukas Lekavicius missed on a long three on the move.
“I think the key is that we were physical on defense,” said Brown. “That’s what we lacked on the last game and a couple of games before that, so we made it an emphasis tonight to come out and defend and be aggressive.”
“Unfortunately, it was a very ugly game for us. We couldn’t get anything going, we didn’t make a lot of things we set out to make, and at the end, we paid the price,” admitted coach Sarunas Jasikevicius.
Baron ended the game with 14 points, while Grigonis and Ulanovas scored 11 points each for Zalgiris, which finished the night with 3/24 threes. Zvezda was not much better with 3/21, but they got the win.
Photo credit: EuroLeague