CSKA Moscow slipped up to begin 2018 as Barcelona continued their mini-resurgence with a big win over the EuroLeague pacesetters.
Barcelona downed CSKA Moscow 85-72 in front of a sellout crowd at Palau Blaugrana in the first round of games of the new year.
The Catalan side improved to 6-10 in the standings after recording its second consecutive win, while CSKA dropped to 12-4. Petteri Koponen led a balanced Barcelona attack with 13 points.
Valencia rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit to stun a fellow-Liga Endesa side Unicaja Malaga 85-83 on the road.
It was the second consecutive EuroLeague win for Valencia, which improved to 5-11 on the season, while Unicaja had its four-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 7-9.
Rafa Martinez netted 17 points for Valencia.
Nick Calathes returned after a three-game absence to produce 17 points, nine assists and three steals for Panathinaikos as they beat Anadolu Efes 90-79.
The win continued Panathinaikos’ unbeaten home record.
