Darussafaka Dogus halted CSKA Moscow’s unbeaten start to the EuroLeague with an impressive 91-83 victory at the Abdi Ipecki Arena in Istanbul.
And the win was throughly deserved as Darussafaka Dogus raced into an early 24-7 lead following a dunk on the break by Bradley Wanamaker.
As the game progressed though, CSKA clawed their way back and in the final minute, the gap was just three points before Will Clyburn rattled in a clutch three-pointer to make the Muscovites taste defeat for the first time this season.
“We played against a great opponent, and we fought very hard and managed to win a game that means a lot to our club, means a lot to our project,” Darussafaka Dogus coach David Blatt said. “It says a lot about our players. But still, it is only one game.”
James Anderson paced the winners with 20 points as Darussafaka moves to 5-2. Nando De Colo led CSKA with 17.
Sergio Llull exploded for a career-high 30 points including some big shots towards the end as Real Madrid held on for an 87-84 win over Panathinaikos in the Spanish capital.
It was an exciting, back-and-forth battle between two EuroLeague heavyweights but Llull’s heroics proved to be the difference as the 2015 champions leap into second place in the standings while Panathinaikos fall to a 4-3 mark.
“We are happy,” said Llull. “I think that was a tough game. Panathinaikos has really good players. They showed that. But we’re happy. We fought til the end and we got another win here at home.
“I love all the games. I love playing basketball, and if the game is tight, I am going to be here. Some days to make it, some days to miss it, but I think that the important thing is that I want the shots.”
Olympiacos made Georgios Bartokas’ return to Piraeus an unhappy one as they emerged victorious over Barcelona 59-52, while holding the Catalan side to its lowest ever EuroLeague points total.
Vassilis Spanoulis paced Olympiacos with 15 points and six assists, enough for 1000 career assists in the EuroLeague.
“You see the score and you understand that we played great defence,” said Spanoulis. “On offence we had some good open shots and we didn’t score. We will make the shots. The most important is to play good defence and to try to find the best the best solutions on offence.”
Jonathan Holmes, a temporary addition to the Barcelona roster due to injuries, led the visitors with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Zalgiris moved off the foot of the EuroLeague table by downing Galatasaray 87-75 thus putting the Turkish team at the bottom with a 1-6 record.
Led by Brock Motum’s 24 points, Zalgiris improve to 2-5.
