2020-21Regular SeasonRound 14
Zenit St Petersburg 79
FC Bayern Munich 75
December 16, 2020 CET: 17:00
Local time: 19:00 SIBUR ARENA

Zenit rallies past Bayern

Zenit St Petersburg snapped its three-game losing streak by defeating FC Bayern Munich 79-75 at Sibur Arena on Wednesday. Zenit improved to 8-4 and registered its first home win since beating FC Barcelona in Round 2. Bayern dropped to 9-5. Billy Baron led the winners with 20 points. Zenit also got 13 points from Will Thomas and 12 from Arturas Gudaitis. Jalen Reynolds paced Bayern with 13 points, Wade Baldwin IV and D.J. Seeley each added 12 while Paul Zipser had 10 for the visitors, who were without top scorer Vladimir Lucic.

Leon Radosevic got Bayern going with a five-meter jumper and Nihad Dedovic added a three-pointer, but Gudaitis brought Zenit within 4-5. Seeley followed a driving layup with a wild three-point play to boost the lead to 4-10. Andrey Zubkov took over with an acrobatic basket, Austin Hollins and KC Rivers each struck from downtown and Kevin Pangos added a layup to help Zenit tie it at 14-14. Reynolds sank back-to-back jumpers, and Zan Sisko banked in a running shot for a 14-20 Bayern lead after 10 minutes. Baron buried a triple early in the second quarter. Reynolds followed a fallaway jumper with a two-handed slam, but Baron scored twice around the basket and Pangos hit a jumper to cause Bayern to stop the game at 23-26. Zipser struck twice from beyond the arc, but Gudaitis and Mateusz Ponitka brought Zenit within 29-34. Baldwin and JaJuan Johnson rescued the guests and Nick Weiler-Babb beat the halftime buzzer with a wild three-point play for a 35-43 Bayern lead at halftime.

Seeley sank a corner triple that made it a double-digit game right after the break. Johnson scored down low and Dedovic added a coast-to-coast layup that boosted the lead to 37-50. Gudaitis stepped up with a tip-in, Thomas added a layup and Baron sank a triple that gave Zenit hope at 44-52. After Dedovic answered from downtown, Baron and Johnson traded jumpers. Zipser scored for a 48-60 Bayern margin. Baron struck again from beyond the arc and Hollins buried an 18-meter prayer to get Zenit within 56-60 at the end of the third quarter. Hollins sank a triple early in the fourth quarter, but Radosevic and Baldwin gave Bayern fresh air at 59-64. Alex Poythress scored in the paint and Thomas sank a step-back jumper to get Zenit within 63-64. Seeley answered with a put-back layup that Poythress bettered with a three-point play for a 66-66 tie. Sisko and Pangos exchanged three-pointers, but Seeley gave Bayern a 69-71 edge with 3 minutes left. Ponitka answered from downtown to give Zenit its first lead of the night. Reynolds scored down low and Sisko added a tip-in, but Baron tied it from beyond the arc, 75-75. Thomas hit free throws and Poythress hit a jump hook that sealed the outcome, 79-75, with 36.6 seconds left.

Pivotal performer

Thomas stepped up when his team needed him most, scoring 8 points in the final 14 minutes. He finished the game with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and 5 fouls drawn for a game-high PIR of 25.

Game-changing moment

Bayern led 72-75 late in the game but Baron buried a spectacular three-point shot, Thomas added free throws and Poythress hit a critical jump hook which allowed Zenit to win the game. The game came down to the final 2 minutes and that 7-0 run allowed the hosts to win it.

Stellar stat

Both teams had very similar stats other than three-point shots. Zenit hit 11 of 23 shots from downtown (47.8%) and Bayern only made 6 of 14 attempts from beyond the arc (42.9%). That accuracy from downtown allowed Zenit to win the game.

Did you know?

Zenit grabbed its first win against Bayern in EuroLeague action. The German powerhouse previously downed Zenit 77-69 at home in December 2019 and 68-77 at Sibur Arena in February 2020. Zenit snapped a four-game losing streak against Bayern, which also beat the Russian powerhouse twice in the 2017-18 7DAYS EuroCup Top 16.

Next game

Both teams return to EuroLeague action later this week. Zenit visits CSKA Moscow on Friday in an all-Russian showdown. Later that day, Bayern hosts TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz at Audi Dome.

Billy Baron - Zenit St Petersburg - EB20
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Euroleague.net
Referees: GARCIA, JUAN CARLOS; BELOSEVIC, ILIJA; GKONTAS, SPIROS
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234
Zenit St Petersburg14212123
FC Bayern Munich20231715
End of Quarter1234
Zenit St Petersburg14355679
FC Bayern Munich20436075
Zenit St Petersburg
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 RIVERS, KC 22:15 3 0/1 1/5     1 1           3   -4
3 ZAKHAROV, DENIS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
4 PANGOS, KEVIN 23:04 7 2/5 1/3         5   3     1 2 5
7 FRIDZON, VITALY 3:00                 1           1
9 HOLLINS, AUSTIN 23:33 9 0/3 3/4     4 4 2 3 1     4 1 10
10 THOMAS, WILL 32:09 13 2/3 1/2 6/6 2 5 7 4 1 1     2 5 25
12 BARON, BILLY 25:00 20 3/6 4/5 2/2 1 1 2   1 2     3 3 17
16 TRUSHKIN, VLADISLAV DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
20 ZUBKOV, ANDREY 9:42 2 1/2   0/1   2 2     2     1 2 1
22 POYTHRESS, ALEX 16:54 7 3/5   1/1 1 2 3 1   1 1   2 2 9
25 PONITKA, MATEUSZ 23:08 6 1/3 1/4 1/2 2 2 4 4 1 2     3 2 6
77 GUDAITIS, ARTURAS 21:15 12 5/6   2/2 2 4 6 2       1 1 3 20
Team           1   1               1
Totals 200:00 79 17/34 11/23 12/14 9 21 30 18 7 12 1 1 20 20 91
        50% 47.8% 85.7%
Head coach: PASCUAL, XAVI
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
FC Bayern Munich
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 WEILER-BABB, NICK 18:06 3 1/2 0/1 1/3   1 1         1 1 2  
2 BALDWIN IV, WADE 26:29 12 4/8 0/1 4/4   5 5 2 3 3       6 20
4 SEELEY, DENNIS 24:02 12 4/5 1/4 1/1 1   1 3   3     3 2 8
8 REYNOLDS, JALEN 18:12 13 6/10   1/2 1 4 5     1     2 2 12
12 FLACCADORI, DIEGO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
14 DEDOVIC, NIHAD 21:04 8 1/2 2/5         2 2       1 1 8
15 AMAIZE, ROBIN 12:52                         1 1  
16 ZIPSER, PAUL 14:07 10   2/2 4/4   2 2 2 1       5 2 12
25 JOHNSON, JAJUAN 24:09 6 3/4       4 4     1 1   2 2 9
31 SISKO, ZAN MARK 19:11 7 2/5 1/1   2   2 6 2 1     3 2 12
43 RADOSEVIC, LEON 21:48 4 2/5     1 2 3 3 1 2     2   4
44 GRANT, SASHA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           2 3 5     1         4
Totals 200:00 75 23/41 6/14 11/14 7 21 28 18 9 12 1 1 20 20 89
        56.1% 42.9% 78.6%
Head coach: TRINCHIERI, ANDREA

Head Coaches

PASCUAL, XAVI
Zenit St Petersburg

"One of our biggest problems in the last games was that we had not enough energy. Today, we recovered this part of the game but it is obvious that we started the game very nervous because we played at home. We are going to feel a responsibility that maybe right now is too much for our team, so we have to enjoy the game a little bit more, play with more passion and not so much pressure that the players are feeling right now. This is why we only scored 14 points in the first quarter. In the rest of the quarters, we scored 21, 21 and 23; we were completely another team. Defensively, it happens the same. We were [making] a lot of mistakes, a lot of stupid fouls through this situation, being under pressure when we play important games like today. So we have to play our game. We have to understand how to manage this situation and to be better and better, day by day."

"First of all, we are very happy for this win. It was a very tough game. I think both teams deserved to win tonight. Finally, in the second part of the game, especially in the last 15 minutes, we started to play again at the level that we were playing in previous games, more effective on offense and defense, in the way that we have to play. In the beginning of the game, especially in the first quarter, the team was a little bit without calm, a little bit under pressure. This is why, on defense, we were going late on some actions and also on offense. We were not effective in easy situations, but step by step we recovered our way and this is why, finally, we won. Also, it is obvious that in the last two games against Madrid and Lokomotiv, we lacked energy, but in this game, we recovered it. This extra day that we had between games helped us a lot. Tonight, I am especially happy for our players, for what they are doing and for how they are working this season until now."

TRINCHIERI, ANDREA
FC Bayern Munich
"It is really difficult to comment on this game besides that I want to congratulate Zenit for the win. I have the clear feeling that we were in control. We lost our poise and basically, we made a huge gift for an early Christmas for Zenit. I take the blame for this. I was not able to give discipline to my team and this is always on the coach. And it is extremely disappointing. It is sad to give a game like this when you control everything, basically. We just melted down overwhelmed by our bad concentration, with sloppy plays. So we were able to converge all the worst of our season in 10 minutes, 8 minutes, I don't remember. And that's it, basically. We were bad. We lost our concentration, didn't play defense and wit as a very bad second half."

Players

BARON, BILLY
Zenit St Petersburg
"I think that in the past couple of games that we have lost, we kind of struggled in the second half. I think we had a tough part there in the third quarter, but we recovered and showed our character. We have a lot of room to grow and showed part of that growth tonight. And it is only December, but this is a huge win for us. Bayern is a very good team, a very well-coached team, so this is important for us to get this win, especially at home. I think Austin's full-court shot changed the game. I think that when that went in, it was like okay. So I think that was probably the play of the game."
THOMAS, WILL
Zenit St Petersburg
"We wanted to play a 40-minute game and knew it was going to be a tough game against them. They are playing well, very well this season. We just executed our game plan and stayed tough until the end. We were down the majority of the game but stayed focused and got the win."
No results found.