Euroleague: Wins at the top

Round 11 of the Euroleague continued on Thursday after Brose Bamberg opened the week with a win over Maccabi Tel Aviv on Wednesday. The top clubs had the chance to flex their muscles this evening, with wins for leaders CSKA Moscow, Real Madrid, and Fenerbahce.

Fenerbahce Istanbul vs. Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, 87-72

Fenerbahce cruised past Crvena Zvezda in Istanbul to record its fourth consecutive victory to move to second place with an 8-3 record. Serbian champs Red Star fell to 4-7 with this loss. The hosts made it count through the middle quarters and after the second frame held a 41-31 halftime lead. The third act closed the game for good thanks to a 27-19 surge from the Turkish giant. Crvena Zvezda could not rally and slipped to defeat.

Ekpe Udoh was strong in the win with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. Jan Vesely drained 14 points and Pero Antic 13 points.

Marko Simonovic topped the losing effort with 14 points.

EA7 Milan vs. CSKA Moscow, 64-79

CSKA Moscow’s surge towards the next round continued as the Euroleague champs easily dispatched Milan on the road. The Russians are cruising at the top of the standings with a 10-1 record, while Milan falls to 4-7. A tight first half went in favor of the Italian champions as Milan collected a 38-36 lead at the long break. CSKA turned means in defense in the second half, pouring in 30 points in the third quarter to change the course of the game.

Dmitry Kulagin and Aaron Jackson scored 14 points apiece for CSKA Moscow.

Miroslav Raduljica hit 11 points for Milan.

Real Madrid vs. Zalgiris Kaunas, 96-91

Real Madrid was forced to go big at home to see off a spirited Zalgiris in the Spanish capital. Madrid joins Fenerbahce on 8-3, while Kaunas drops to 4-7. This was a back and forth encounter and through a high octane first half the teams were locked on 49-49. The scoreboard started moving towards Los Blancos in the third act and the hosts held on in the fourth quarter to see out the game.

Luka Doncic led the win with 17 points, while Gustavo Ayon secured 14 points.

Kevin Pangos secured 19 points for Zalgiris, followed by Brock Motum with 17 points.