By Stefan Djordjevic/ sdjordjevic@eurohoops.net
Wade Baldwin put on an impressive performance and with help from Vladimir Lucic, who went hero mode, the duo gave Bayern Munich a 78-76 road win over Crvena Zvezda in EuroLeague Round 27.
Lucic couldn’t find his rhythm throughout the game but scored all ten of his points in the last four minutes to recover his team from down 68-63 and push them to win.
The Serbian forward has always been persistent in his efforts on the court and so was the case this time around.
“I think for us it’s a really important victory. We want to attack the EuroLeague Playoffs, and it was an important game for us to stay on that road. We expected a tough game, like always against Zvezda, a physical team playing great defense with Coach Radonjic, who we all know. I think we were fighting until the end. Like many times this year, we did not give up until the end, and I think we deserved this win,” Lucic noted.
Meanwhile, Baldwin was the main offensive force for the Germans with 27 points a deep step-back dagger three at 40 seconds remaining for 76-71 to seal the deal.
Jalen Reynolds added 13 points while, on the other side, Jordan Loyd had an impressive outing with 26 points followed by Corey Walden with 15 and Ognjen Dobric with 13 points.
Zvezda, which led by as much as ten points (57-47) late in the third quarter, saw another game slip through their fingers and now holds a 7-20 record while Bayern stays firmly inside the playoff zone with 17-10.
Coach Andrea Trinchieri was expecting a tough game as he usually has those when playing against Crvena Zvezda and he was satisfied with how his players overcame the challenge and bounced back.
“The game was exactly as you saw it. Very difficult. Zvezda put together a great effort. You had a very good first quarter, the second and third quarters were bad, but with also some good plays from Zvezda, so there is also [the factor] of an opponent. We could do better, but they had a good run. In the last quarter, we found an alignment that was working. We made all the right plays, we didn’t give up. Even when Loyd scored an unbelievable shot that can be heavy in that moment to swallow, we kept playing and made some big baskets. It’s a huge win for us on the road,” he said.
Photo Credit: FC Bayern Basketball