Euroleague Round 14: Crvena Zvezda stuns Real Madrid

EuroleagueAs Round 14 opened in the Euroleague, there were four games on Thursday ahead of the round being completed with four contests on Friday. The story of today was Serbian champ Crvena Zvezda Belgrade seeing off Real Madrid at home. Elsewhere, Anadolu Efes took out Galatasaray in an Istanbul derby and Unics Kazan was too strong for Zalgiris Kaunas. Finally, Brose Bamberg’s good form continued with a win over Olympiacos.

Galatasaray Istanbul vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul, 76-86

Galatasaray hosts Anadolu Efes in an Istanbul derby at the Abdi Ipekci Arena. Despite traditionally being a hard fought contest, Anadolu Efes claimed a comfortable road win to move to 7-7 in mid table. Galatasaray’s loss pushes the club to bottom with a 4-10 showing. The hosts led 44-38 through halftime, but Anadolu Efes wrestled the momentum in the third act before closing out the game in the fourth. Brandon Paul led the win with 19 points, while Blake Schilb grabbed a game high 21 points for Galatasaray. Alex Tyus took a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds in the losing effort.

Crvena Zvezda Belgrade vs. Real Madrid, 82-70

Serbian champ Crvena Zvezda stunned 2015 Euroleague and current Spanish champs Real Madrid. The win pushed the club to 6-8, while Madrid dropped to third with a 9-5 record. The hosts stayed one step ahead throughout, using a strong first half to record a 43-35 advantage through the long break. Real Madrid struggled to get into the game, and while the second half was narrow, Crvena Zvezda won both frames to secure the win. Marko Simonovic grabbed 20 points for the home team, while Jeffrey Taylor topped the scoring with 25 points for Los Blancos.

Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Unics Kazan, 80-88

Unics Kazan grabbed an important road win in its pursuit to remain in the running for qualification. The Russian team downed Zalgiris thanks to a blistering fourth quarter to join the Kaunas club on a 5-9 record. The hosts were simply cruising for large periods and enjoyed an 11 points cushion through thirty minutes, with the board reading 69-58. However, Unics drained 30 points in the deciding stanza, stopping Zalgiris at 11 on the way to a stunning comeback. Euroleague top scorer Keith Langford went big again with 26 points for Unics Kazan, while Artsiom Parakhouski added 24 points in the win.

Brose Bamberg vs. Olympiacos Piraeus, 82-68

It is safe to say Brose Bamberg has turned the corner. If you have followed the Euroleague season so far, you will know the German champions have been in excellent form, but struggled to win many games. That has changed in recent rounds and now Bamberg is sitting on a three streak run. This victory over Olympiacos pushed the team to 5-9 and truly back into contention. As for Olympiacos, the Greek giant fell to third with 9-5 alongside Real Madrid. The hosts carved the Greek champ apart in the first half and took in a 48-30 lead at the midway point. From there Bamberg never looked back as Darius Miller paced the team with 20 points.

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