By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Codi Miller-McIntyre with 20 points and Filip Petrusev with 25 plus seven rebounds created an admirable one-two punch for Crvena Zvezda.
The result was the 98-90 road win of the Serbs in Monaco with the two teams having the same 4-4 record in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings.
“If we play defense like this, we have talent in offense and we can beat anyone”, said Petrusev after the final buzzer, and coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos added: “We let Monaco score only 36 points in the second half and that was the key”.
Isaiah Canaan added 11 points and a block over Mike James who had in total 20 points for the hosts and did his best.
Elie Okobo also had 20 points plus five assists, but couldn’t do much in the last quarter.
Zvezda dominated the fourth quarter
The first half was a high-scoring affair with the hosts starting the game with a 10-2 run, but ending the first period with the two teams tied at 26.
Zvezda fought fire with fire, trailing by two (41-39) with five minutes left in the second period and Petrusev already scoring 12 points. However, Monaco put its foot on the gas and had a 13-7 run which created an eight-point lead (54-46) with Nedovic trimming it to six (54-48) at halftime.
Okobo had also scored 12 first-half points, but Zvezda didn’t back down. On the contrary with Codi Miller-McIntyre reaching the 18-point mark, the Serbs took the 71-68 lead and the third period ended with the score tied at 74 with Okobo scoring at the buzzer.
It turned out that Zvezda kept the best for last, starting the final period with a 12-4 run and getting an 86-78 lead. Jordan Loyd managed to trim the lead to four (88-84) with a big three, but Petrusev with two free throws, and Isaiah Canaan kept the distance (92-84).
Rokas Giedriatis with one minute left gave Zvezda their biggest lead (94-85) and the game was over. Mike James trimmed the lead to six (96-90) with 30 seconds left, when it was too late.
Photo credit: EuroLeague