2019-20Regular SeasonRound 26
KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 71
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 56
February 27, 2020 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 BUESA ARENA

Baskonia's defense stops Zvezda

KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz bounced back from recent losses by topping Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 71-56 at Fernando Buesa Arena on Thursday. Both teams now have a 10-16 records in the standings. Toko Shengelia led the winners with 18 points, Shavon Shields added 15 and Michael Eric had 10 for Baskonia. Vladimir Stimac paced Zvezda with 13 points, Kevin Punter added 12 and Lorenzo Brown had 10 for the visitors. Shengelia paced Baskonia early in the game, getting help from Shields and Matt Janning to give the hosts a 21-15 lead after 10 minutes. Baskonia found a new go-to guy in Eric, who had 8 points late in the first half to boost his team's margin to 39-28, at halftime. Shields and a dominant Ilimane Diop helped Baskonia keep a double-digit margin, 54-43, after 30 minutes and Baskonia kept rolling and sealed the outcome long before the final buzzer.

Billy Baron got Zvezda going with a three-pointer and Stimac dunked for a 0-5 lead. Semaj Christon stepped up with a floater that Baron erased with an electric driving layup. Shengelia struck from downtown and Shields soon gave Baskonia its first lead, 8-7. Stimac scored down low and Marko Jagodic-Kuridza added a catch-and-shoot jumper, but Shields and Shengelia kept the hosts in charge, 13-11. Shields kept pacing Baskonia with a layup that Brown erased with a mid-range jumper. Youssoupha Fall scored in the paint and Janning added a three-pointer, but Punter answered with a jumper that brought Zvezda within 21-15 after 10 minutes. Shengelia buried another triple early in the fourth quarter, but Michael Ojo scored around the basket and Punter added a driving layup to make it 24-19. Shengelia scored in the low post and fed Shields for a layup that prompted the visitors to call timeout at 28-19. Kalin Lucas sank a floater and Punter did better with a three-pointer that brought Zvezda within 28-24. Eric rescued Baskonia with a wild put-back slam and a layup, but Punter struck from beyond the arc for a 32-27 Zvezda deficit. Eric stayed on fire with another put-back basket and a great assist to Zoran Dragic, allowing Baskonia to take a double-digit lead, 39-28, at halftime.

Branko Lazic and Christon exchanged three-pointers soon after the break. Marko Jagodic-Kuridza sank a jumper off a pick-and-pop play and Brown scored in transition to make it 42-35 Zvezda. Shields stepped up with a driving basket that Brown improved with a triple. Shengelia downed a jumper and Diop added a tip-in, giving Baskonia fresh air at 48-41. Diop got help from Shields to restore a 54-43 lead after 30 minutes. Diop scored again early in the fourth quarter as Zvezda kept struggling to score against the hosts' suffocating defense. Meanwhile, Shengelia buried a three-pointer and added a layup that broke the game open, 62-45, with less than 6 minutes left. Little changed after that, as Baskonia kept full control of the game until the final buzzer.

Pivotal performer

Shavon Shields played one of his best games of the season, helping Baskonia in many ways. He finished the game with 15 points on 7-of-9 two-point shooting plus 6 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and 5 fouls drawn for a game-high PIR of 23.

Game-changing moment

Michael Eric took matters into his own hands late in the first half, making the difference in the game with his intensity and effectiveness. He ignited the crowd with a big one-handed slam, added a layup, a put-back basket and an assist to Matt Janning for a layup. He allowed Baskonia to get its first double-digit lead, 39-28, and Baskonia went on to dominate the game.

Stellar stat

Baskonia outrebounded Zvezda by 37-31 and forced its opponents into making just 5 of 25 shots from beyond the arc (20%). Zvezda has made 10 of 47 three-point shots against Baskonia this season (21.3%) and 179 of 508 (35.2%) against everyone else.

Did you notice?

Vladimir Stimac's late free throws with 3 seconds remaining saved Zvezda from having a EuroLeague season-low scoring mark. Baskonia, Real Madrid, FC Bayern Munich and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul all scored 55 points throughout his season. It is Zvezda's worst scoring night this season, 56 points, and its fourth-lowest ever; it had 53 points against Khimki Moscow Region on October 30, 2015, and 54 points twice - in 2017 and 2018.

Next game

Both teams return to EuroLeague action early next week - on Wednesday, March 4. Zvezda visits Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and later that evening Baskonia visits FC Bayern Munich.

Shavon Shields - KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz - EB19
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Euroleague.net
Referees: LAMONICA, LUIGI; PANTHER, ANNE; KOWALSKI, MARCIN
Attendance: 9445
By Quarter1234
KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz21181517
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade15131513
End of Quarter1234
KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz21395471
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade15284356
KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 GONZALEZ, MIGUEL 2:43 3   1/1                       3
6 CHRISTON, SEMAJ 18:20 5 1/1 1/4     1 1   1 1       1 4
7 HENRY, PIERRIA 20:30 3 1/1 0/1 1/2   3 3 2 1       4 1 4
11 JANNING, MATT 26:28 3 0/2 1/3     3 3 4   1     1 1 5
12 DIOP, ILIMANE 10:26 8 3/3 0/1 2/2 1   1       1   1 3 11
17 GARCIA, SERGI 2:59     0/1                       -1
19 FALL, YOUSSOUPHA 9:17 3 1/4   1/2   3 3     3       1  
23 SHENGELIA, TORNIKE 29:31 18 4/6 3/4 1/2 2 3 5 1 1 1     3 4 21
30 DRAGIC, ZORAN 12:58 3 1/3 0/2 1/2   2 2     1     2 1 -2
31 SHIELDS, SHAVON 36:04 15 7/9 0/3 1/2   6 6 5 1 1     2 5 23
33 POLONARA, ACHILLE 10:29   0/2       2 2 1 2   1       4
50 ERIC, MICHAEL 20:15 10 3/4   4/6 3 2 5 1 1 2     5 4 11
Team             6 6               6
Totals 200:00 71 21/35 6/20 11/18 6 31 37 14 7 10 2 0 18 21 89
        60% 30% 61.1%
Head coach: IVANOVIC, DUSKO
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
00 PUNTER, KEVIN 19:45 12 3/6 2/5     1 1     2     2 2 5
4 BROWN, LORENZO 23:25 10 2/5 1/7 3/4   1 1 1   1   1   5 5
5 PERPEROGLOU, STRATOS 4:29 1   0/1 1/2   1 1     1       1  
7 DAVIDOVAC, DEJAN 13:57 2   0/2 2/2   1 1   1 2     1 2 1
10 LAZIC, BRANKO 23:38 3 0/2 1/2     1 1 1 1       3 1 1
12 BARON, BILLY 20:17 7 2/3 1/4     4 4 4 1       1 3 14
15 GIST, JAMES 16:35         1 2 3 1 1       4 1 2
16 LUCAS, KALIN 14:53 2 1/3 0/2     1 1 3   2   1     -1
21 JAGODIC-KURIDZA, MARKO 20:38 4 2/3 0/1   1 2 3 3         2   6
28 SIMANIC, BORISA 4:56           1 1           3   -2
50 OJO, MICHAEL 12:54 2 1/2     1 3 4 1   1     3   2
91 STIMAC, VLADIMIR 24:33 13 4/7 0/1 5/6 1 6 7 1 1 2     2 3 16
Team           3   3               3
Totals 200:00 56 15/31 5/25 11/14 7 24 31 15 5 11 0 2 21 18 52
        48.4% 20% 78.6%
Head coach: GAVRILOVIC, ANDRIJA

Head Coaches

IVANOVIC, DUSKO
KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz

"We improved our one-on-one defense in the second half, especially with [Pierria] Henry. We tried to play a good game. I think we had a good game, but I think we must improve many things to be in an upper spot in the standings. This team will fight in every game and after that, we will see what we can do."

Andrija Gavrilovic

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade

"First thing, I want to congratulate Baskonia for a good game and a clear win. I think that these last two weeks were unusual because there was a break and after the Serbian Cup, we had to work a little bit more, just as for Baskonia. We were preparing what we wanted to focus on and stop, which was their physical defense and fast breaks after good defenses, their inside game with tall, strong players. In the end, we only did it partly, not completely, because 56 points tell that, obviously, we didn't find the way to punish their help on defense, how to finish our offenses with a higher percentage shot. At the same time, we allowed them a very good two-point shooting percentage, 60%, and I think this decided the game."

Players

SHENGELIA, TORNIKE
KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
"Winning was the highlight of the game, I would say. Everybody stepped up tonight on defense and aggressiveness. We were more aggressive on both sides of the court, especially on defense. I think we did a good job in rebounds in the second half and we have to keep going like this. Our mindset is that we are still alive. We still can make it to the playoffs and hopefully, we are going to do it. We will do whatever that depends on us: play games and try to win them, and then we will see."
SHIELDS, SHAVON
KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
"It just feels good to get a win. We have been hurting a little bit in the win category, so it feels good to get one done, and hopefully we can make a little playoffs push. Like I said, we have to win games if we want to make it to the playoffs and every game is do-or-die. And we got it done tonight."