Jonas Valanciunas marked his return to European basketball with a winning EuroLeague debut as Zalgiris Kaunas defeated Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 83-77 on the road Thursday.
The 34-year-old center, who spent the past 14 seasons in the NBA, delivered a composed performance in his first competitive game back in Lithuania and Europe. Valanciunas finished with 13 points and eight rebounds as Zalgiris secured its seventh win in the last eight meetings with Crvena Zvezda.
Zalgiris took control early, opening an 11-21 lead, but the hosts quickly responded in front of a loud Belgrade Arena crowd. The game subsequently developed into a physical back-and-forth battle before Zalgiris found the decisive plays in the closing minutes.
Nigel Williams-Goss was at the heart of the visitors’ victory, finishing with 14 points and six assists. With three minutes remaining, the guard knocked down a three-pointer to give Zalgiris a 75-72 lead, and the visitors maintained their advantage from there.
Valanciunas complemented his scoring with eight rebounds and two assists, while Azuolas Tubelis produced a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Carsen Edwards also scored 13 points, while Sterling Brown added 10 in his first EuroLeague appearance for Zalgiris after joining from Crvena Zvezda’s city rival Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade during the offseason.
Zalgiris dominated the rebounding battle 46-39 and received 18 assists compared with 21 from Crvena Zvezda, but it was the visitors’ defense in the second half that ultimately made the difference.
Crvena Zvezda shot just 38.6% from two-point range and 34.5% from three-point range. Jonathan Motley struggled particularly badly against the Zalgiris interior defense, finishing with just two points on 1-of-7 shooting.
Chris Jones led Crvena Zvezda with 15 points and eight assists, while Jared Butler, David Kramer and Jordan Nwora each reached double figures.
The victory was particularly significant for Valanciunas, who began his professional career with Lietuvos Rytas in 2009 and remained with the Lithuanian club until moving to the NBA in 2012.
After a long NBA career with the Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, Washington Wizards and Denver Nuggets, Valanciunas returned to Europe this summer to join Zalgiris.
His first EuroLeague appearance in more than a decade ended with a road victory and an important contribution in a physical opening-round contest.
For Crvena Zvezda, the defeat marked a difficult start to Ibon Navarro’s tenure. The Spaniard took over during the offseason after four seasons with Unicaja Malaga and acknowledged that Zalgiris had the upper hand in crucial areas.
Zalgiris will host defending champion Olympiacos next Tuesday with basketball icon Shaquille O’Neal set to attend the game, while Crvena Zvezda remains at home to face Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv.
