Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade entered the win column in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with an impressive 63-75 victory at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.
Zvezda steps up defense to win in Tel Aviv, 63-75
Game Report
4 mins read
Nikola Kalinic led all scorers with 19 points while Nate Wolters poured in 17 points against his former club and Luka Mitrovic picked up a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds in the victory - which gave the Serbian side a 1-1 mark.
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade entered the win column in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with an impressive 63-75 victory at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. Nikola Kalinic led all scorers with 19 points while Nate Wolters poured in 17 points against his former club and Luka Mitrovic picked up a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds in the victory - which gave the Serbian side a 1-1 mark. Maccabi has the same record after a disappointing showing in front of a sold-out Menora Mivtachim Arena. Scottie Wilbekin knocked down 6 three-pointers for 18 points and Mathias Lessort chipped in 16 points in the loss.
Zvezda came out strong with Kalinic scoring the first 4 points. Maccabi committed 5 turnovers in the first 4 minutes with Kalinic grabbing a steal and an assist for Wolters to make it 0-10. The hosts finally got on the board through James Nunnally and Wilbekin’s first three-pointer trimmed it to 7-12. Wilbekin hit another triple, but Mitrovic extended the gap to 10-20, which was the score after 10 minutes. Marko Simonovic started the second quarter with a three-pointer and the lead was 13 points. Wilbekin answered with another triple, but Maccabi went nearly 3 minutes without a score and Simonovic hit another three as Zvezda surged ahead 13-28. After another Maccabi timeout, Angelo Caloiaro stepped with a three-pointer and two three-point plays within 35 seconds to trim the deficit to 22-28. Zvezda responded with a 1-7 surge and the cushion was 23-35 before Lessort finished the first half with 4 points. The hosts trailed 27-35 at the break.
Jalen Reynolds scored inside and Nunnally hit a three-pointer to get Maccabi within 32-37. The Maccabi offense stalled again though and Mitrovic had 5 points in helping the guests pull away to 32-44. Wolters knocked down a pair of triples at the end of the quarter and Zvezda was up 37-54 after 30 minutes. Ognjen Dobric opened the fourth quarter and the lead was 37-56. Maccabi tried to fight back with a Wilbekin triple and Lessort points and the score was 43-58. Dobric, Wolters and Kalinic made sure there would be no comeback with three-pointers of their own to make it 46-67 with under 5 minutes to play. Maccabi tried to stay alive with an unsportsmanlike foul, which resulted in 5 points thanks to a Wilbekin triple to make things interesting 55-68 with under 3 minutes remaining. Maccabi could not get closer than 11 points the rest of the way.