By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Zoran Dragic went full “Dracarys” by tying his personal EuroLeague best with 24 points, dishing out 4 assists, grabbing 3 rebounds and registering a career-high 34 in PIR as Anadolu Efes defeated Crvena Zvezda 104 – 95 in Abdi Ipekci.
“I feel great. I’m happy we won the game. We controlled the defense and boards and won,” said Dragic in his post-game flash interview.
The Slovenian player’s flawless performance led to nothing short of a crucial victory for his team. Dragic shot 7/7 from the field to help Efes improve its record to 5 – 12 and stay alive, at least mathematically, in the playoff race.
He also dropped five decisive points in a row that gave a 12-point pillow, 95 – 83 to Efes with 3:33 remaining and scored the dagger for the 101- 92, with 47 seconds left.
Crvena Zvezda delivered on the offensive end with five players scoring double figures but failed to prevent its opponents from making buckets, thus falling to a 7 – 10 record.
Coach Dusan Alimpijevic’s team was close 71 – 69 at the end of the third but Efes rushed for an 11 – 2 partial score that made it 82 – 71.Then Dragic and Errick McCollum (20 points) completed the damage.
Milko Bjelica (15 points, 6 rebounds), Taylor Rochestie (14 points, 4 assists), Nikola Jovanovic (13 points) and Dejan Davidovac (10 points, 4 rebounds) were the top performers by Red Star.
For Efes, Bryant Dunston had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists while in his EuroLeague debut, Toney Douglas scored 12 points (2/3 two-pointers, 1/2 3-pointers), dished out 4 assists and grabbed 3 rebounds.