Zalgiris stunned Anadolu Efes in Istanbul by beating the Turkish giants 65-62 in their Euroleague, Group A encounter.
Edgaras Ulanovas paced the winners with 19 points on the night, including the game-winning free throws with 12 seconds remaining as both teams move to 2-1 record in the group.
“It was a tough game, the fourth quarter was a battle, but small details allowed us to win the game,” said Ulanovas afterwards.
“First of all, a big word to my guys, they were really great,” said Zalgiris coach Gintaras Krapikas. “The second half was not easy because Efes put a lot of pressure on us but we stayed as men. We are very lucky to get a really tough win in Istanbul against a top team in this group. For sure, I have to congratulate the guys, who played a very tough game.”
Nenad Krstic led Anadolu Efes with 22 points, as the veteran Serbian was the only real standout for the hosts.
Elsewhere in the group, Unics Kazan secured their first win of the Euroleague season by beating Dinamo Sassari 85-62.
After taking a slender 37-35 lead at half-time, Unics then raced away in the third period. A 16-2 run proved to be a pivotal difference and then a 19-0 run in the fourth was the killer blow as the Russian side outscored their Italian counterparts 50-25 in the final two quarters.
“It was a very important game for us in the Euroleague,” Unics coach Argiris Pedoulakis said. “The key for our win was our defence in the second half, especially because our shooting was not very good. In the second half we played well defensively.”
D’Or Fischer led Kazan with 14 points and 9 rebounds, with Rakim Sanders leading Sassari with a game-high 18.
Real Madrid remained unbeaten in Group A following a routine 112-83 win over Nizhny Novgorod in the Spanish capital.
It was an easy win for the Liga Endesa side as they posted a Euroleague record 33 assists, with Jaycee Carroll hitting seven three-pointers, en route to 32 points. Taylor Rochestie hit a career-high 23 points for the Russian visitors.
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv bounced back from losing in Moscow last week by beating Alba Berlin 84-69 at the 02 World in Group B.
The visitors took advantage in the second quarter by going on a 17-0 run to take a 46-29 lead at half-time and never look back.
Against his old club, Brian Randle led five Maccabi players in double figures with 25 points, as the Euroleague champions improve to 2-1.
“We came very focused,” Randle said afterwards. “We knew we had an opportunity here to do something special. We had a rough game against CSKA. We didn’t want that to happen twice. We really made a concerted effort. Everybody came out and gave everything they had and it was enough. ”
Reggie Redding had 15 points to lead Alba, who drops to 0-3.
Panathinaikos were impressive in beating Fenerbahce 91-73 in Athens in Group C. The Greeks raced to a 31-19 advantage at the end of the first quarter and despite only scoring 9 points in the final quarter, the victory was never in doubt.
Dimitris Diamantidis passed 1,000 career Euroleague assists in the game, he only needed one, and he achieved that with the first play of the game, as he set up AJ Slaughter for a three-pointer. The Greek veteran finished with 10 overall.
Legendary Fenerbahce coach Zeljko Obradovic, who spent 13 seasons with Panathinaikos, is now 0-2 in his travels to Athens against his former club.
“Yeah, I felt from the very first moment and the very first shot that I was in the zone,” said Slaughter who finished with 23 points. “I played more aggressive than I used to do and you see the result. I hope that we keep playing that way.”
Nemanja Bjelica scored 16 for Fenerbahce as they move level with Panathinaikos on 2-1 records in Group C.
Red Star Belgrade were comfortable 76-63 winners over Valencia in the Serbian capital as they move to 2-1 in Group D, leaving Valencia, last season’s Eurocup winners still without a win.
Boban Marjanovic used his dominant 7’3” advantage to claim 16 points and 8 rebounds for the winners.
