FC Barcelona climbed to the top of the EuroLeague after its victory in the El Clasico with Real Madrid on Friday night.
The Catalans, led by Nikola Mirotic, rallied past Real Madrid at Palau Blaugrana (93-80). The hosts took control after the first quarter and never looked back. Playing very well, especially offensively, they led by as many as 15 points (76-61) and cruised to the victory.
Mirotic went for a game-high 31 points (7/10 shooting) and 10 rebounds, while Dante Exum had two points in 13 minutes in his debut with the “Blaugrana”.
FC Barcelona is now on top of the standings with a 12-2 record. For its part, Real Madrid dropped to second, at 11-3.
Armani Milano snapped a four-game losing streak following its road victory over Monaco (65-71). The Italians used a 2-13 run late in the first quarter and extended their lead to 21 points to seal the deal. The visitors maintained a top four push and improved to 9-5. On the contrary, Monaco dropped to 5-9 and is on a five-game losing streak.
CSKA Moscow outscored Zalgiris Kaunas 11-27 in the third quarter and cruised past the Lithuanians at Zalgirio Arena (51-73). This was the fourth straight win for the Muscovites, who improved to 9-5. They are now tied for third with Olympiacos and Armani.
On the other hand, Zalgiris remained on the bottom of the standings (3-11) and saw their three-game losing streak at home come to an end.
In Athens, Panathinaikos relied on its defense to claim the home victory over ALBA Berlin (82-67). The “Greens” conceded just 24 points in the second half and secured their second straight win at home.
Panathinaikos improved to 4-10 in the standings, whereas ALBA dropped to 5-9 and remained close to the bottom of the table.
