By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Both Real Madrid and Niznhy Novgorod suffered at their home courts, but in the end the two hosts started their Euroleague season with wins, despite the valiant effort of both Zalgiris Kaunas and Dinamo Sassari.
For 23 minutes Zalgiris Kaunas was in the game at Madrid. However the difference of quality between the two teams is evident, Real found its rythm and prevailed with the final score being 80-71. It was unexpected, but the Lithuanians had a small lead in the first half, the score was tied at 39 at the start of the third period. Τhe partial score in this quarter was 24-14 for Real, order was restored (56-49) and Zalgiris couldn’t get closer than five (66-61). Jonas Maciulis was a key player for the win, making the bigest three of the game (69-61) and also Gustavo Ayon (photo) was impressive in his Euroleague debut with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.
In the first game of the night, two newcomers in the league clashed and after a thrilling end the hosts, Nizhny Novgorod, got the 88-86 win over Dinamo Sassari. It was a game sealed by former Partizan member Tarence Kinsey who had 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. He also made two crucial free throws and he made the score 88-84 with 12 seconds left on the clock. The guests started the game strong, had a 26-15 lead after the first period, but after that Nizhny reacted and it was a close game until the last moment. Sassari cut the lead to two (88-86) after a bucket of Jerome Dyson and had the chance to get to overtime, because of a turnover by Dimitriy Khostov with just four seconds on the clock. It was Dyson who this time missed the lay up which could have tied the game.