Crvena Zvezda rolls past Galatasaray in Istanbul

Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade led from start to finish en route to a 68-91 victory over Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul at Abdi Ipekci Arena on Thursday. The victory lifted Zvezda to 3-7 and out of a tie for last place with Galatasaray, which fell to 2-8. The visitors started 4-15 and led by 20 in the second quarter. Galatasaray rallied to within 9 in the third quarter, but Jaka Blazic scored 10 in a 0-17 charge that bridged the third and fourth quarters and put the game out of reach at 51-77. Blazic led six Zvezda scorers in double figures with 19 points on 3-of-3 three-point shooting. Boban Marjanovic posted 14 points and 9 rebounds as his double-double streak ended at five games. Charles Jenkins also scored 14, Luka Mitrovic and Maik Zirbes netted 12 apiece and Nikola Kalinic 11. Martynas Pocius led the home team with 13 points, Zoran Erceg scored 11 and Patric Young 10.

First quarter: Marjanovic helps Zvezda jump to early lead

Marjanovic controlled the opening tip for Zvezda before Mitrovic’s bucket started the scoring. Marcus Williams’s steal lead to a Blazic layup and Mitrovic added a tip-in for a 0-6 start. Sinan Guler drove for the hosts’ first points two minutes into the game. Marjanovic scored an easy basket and then used his length for a tip-in. Guler and Kalinic traded jumpers. Blazic buried the game’s first three to make it 4-15. Guler drove for a tricky layup, but Williams found Marjanovic for another score. Guler missed a jumper, however Young was there for a two-handed put-back. Marjanovic reached 8 points with a second-chance bucket. Erceg’s layup on the break made it 10-19 before the first TV timeout. Then Erceg drilled a three from the corner. Maik Zirbes came in for Marjanovic and scored with a hook shot. Young scored in the low post and Erceg from the line to trim the deficit to 16-21 after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Jenkins heats up as visitors pull away

Justin Carter and Jenkins traded threes in the first minute of the quarter. After Vladimir Micov’s layup, Stefan Jovic’s long bounce pass found Zirbes for a slam. Pocius closed the gap to 4, but Jenkins drilled a second three and Jovic assisted Zirbes inside to make it 23-32. Kerem Gonlum managed a tip-in, however a third three from Jenkins established a new double-digit advantage. Zirbes dunked on Gonlum and Kalinic added a basket before a TV timeout midway through the quarter with the score 25-39. After Pocius hit foul shots, Mitrovic drained a jump shot. Jenkins stole the ball from Pocius and drove for a layup and foul. Marjanovic rejected Young and Kalinic added free throws for an 18-point cushion. Young scored a tough second-chance basket in the paint. After Kalinic scored in the paint, Williams bounced a pass behind him on the break for Mitrovic for a monster slam and a 29-49 advantage. Pocius scored 4 points and Young made a foul-line jumper. After a timeout, Williams assisted Kalinic on a three-pointer to make it 35-52 at the break.

Third quarter: Galatasaray rallies to within 9

Micov buried a three-pointer for the hosts before Mitrovic scored a nifty reverse layup. Williams sent a long pass to Mitrovic, but Young rose to reject his shot. Blazic was in the right place to score the rebound. Micov scored again for the hosts in the paint. Carter drove from one end to the other to make it 42-56 midway through the quarter. Marjanovic banked in a shot only to see Erceg score at the other end. Erceg added a triple to cut the gap to 11. After Young’s dunked it was 49-58. Mitrovic’s put back and Marjanovic’s layup restored some of Zvezda’s cushion. Blazic’s three in the closing seconds of the quarter made it 51-67.

Fourth quarter: Blazic caps big run to ice game

Blazic drained another three to start the quarter and then he hit a mid-range jumper. Nemanja Dangubic’s basket-plus-foul and Blazic’s fast break slam capped a 0-17 charge for a 51-77 lead. Pocius sank a three to end the drought and soon added a baseline jumper. Dangubic added a jumper as did teenager Ege Arar for the hosts. Jenkins connected on his fourth three-pointer and Blazic poked the ball away from Pocius and took it for a layup as the visitors wrapped up the victory with time to spare.