By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Real Madrid held off Zenit St Petersburg with a 79-72 victory at home for Round 13 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague to improve to an 8-5 record, making this their second straight win. Zenit now falls to a 7-4 record, while this is their first defeat on the road this season after an impressive number of six victories.
After a low-scoring first half that ended with a 36-31 advantage for the hosts, Real quickly got in charge of the game, getting ahead with a 20-point lead in the third quarter.
Zenit’s feisty spirit helped them recover from the deficit in the final period with a quick 14-6 run, though Anthony Randolph (12 points) was there to restore a 10-point lead for Real with less than a minute left in the game.
“We made a lot of mistakes in the fourth quarter and they came back. They hadn’t lost away, which is for something, and they showed it today trying to come back and playing great until the end. It’s an important victory against a team that was perfect away from home”, said Pablo Laso after the game.
Alberto Abalde was the leading scorer for Pablo Laso’s squad with 16 points, while last week’s MVP Walter Tavares filled the statsheet with a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds as well as 3 steals. Nicolas Laprovittola and Trey Thompkins added 10 points each.
On the other end of the court, Austin Hollins led all scorers of the visitors with 15 points. Kevin Pangos and KC Rivers added 11 points respectively.
Photo: EuroLeague