2020-21Regular SeasonRound 16
Zenit St Petersburg 98
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 69
December 22, 2020 CET: 18:00
Local time: 20:00 SIBUR ARENA

Rivers inspires record-setting Zenit to destroy Zvezda

Zenit St Petersburg set numerous records in destroying Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 98-69 on Tuesday night. The home side led 30-12 at the end of the first quarter and never looked back, despite Zvezda briefly getting closer with a 0-13 run to bridge the second and third quarters. Zenit enjoyed a 12-0 run early in the second half and Zvezda never threatened again. KC Rivers led the way with 7-of-8 three-point shooting in his total of 23 points, while Kevin Pangos added 17, Billy Baron scored 13 and Arturas Gudaitis netted 12. Johnny O’Bryant (13 points) and Dejan Davidovac (10) offered some resistance for Zvezda. Zenit (9-5) protected its place in the playoffs zone, while Zvezda dropped to 5-11.

Three-pointers from Will Thomas and Pangos sent Zenit racing ahead, before Ognjen Dobric’s tip-in got Zvezda on the scoreboard. Two more baskets for Pangos made it 11-2 and he soon added his third triple for a double-digit lead. O’Bryant’s triple made it closer, but Pangos drove to score again and Andrey Zubkov scored twice for a 21-11 advantage. Gudaitis added a pair of buckets, including a three-point play, and Baron struck a long two to make it 30-12 after 10 minutes. Baron made a trio of free throws to take the lead past 20 points and Alex Poythress dunked twice before Baron struck from deep as the lead kept growing. Dobric, Ognjen Kuzmic and Marko Simonovic scored inside for Zvezda, but Mateusz Ponitka hit a three to keep Zenit comfortable, 43-22. Baron netted another triple, but Zvezda scored free throws and continued to enjoy success inside through O’Bryant and Dobric, before Corey Walden’s driving layup completed a 0-10 run to make it 48-37 at halftime.

Branko Lazic got it back to 48-40 from long-range, but Rivers struck a quickfire trio of triples to restore a strong lead, 59-42. Gudaitis scored 4 points to complete a 12-0 run, before Davidovac made it closer with a powerful layup and a three-pointer. Zvezda’s new signing Quino Colom netted a floater and a triple, making it 69-54 at the end of the third. Rivers netted his fourth triple and Thomas scored underneath for another 20-point lead. A pair of three-point shots and an easy layup from Rivers made it 82-56 and Ponitka hit an open triple for 87-58. O’Bryant scored twice inside for Zvezda, but the on-fire Rivers scored from deep again, 90-60. Zubkov added another triple and Zenit eased home in the final minutes.

Records fall in rout

The 29-point winning margin was easily the biggest recorded by Zenit in the competition and its totals of 98 points, 16 three-pointers and 115 PIR were also club records in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

Pangos starts with fireworks

Kevin Pangos made a superb start to the game, scoring 13 points in the opening 6 minutes by making all of his field-goal attempts - including three three-pointers. He then turned provider to finish the first quarter with 15 points and 3 assists.

Milestone night for Rivers

KC Rivers tied Zenit’s competition record by making 7 of his 8 three-point attempts. His tally of 23 points also saw him move past 1,500 points in his EuroLeague career. And the win saw the well-traveled forward record his 100th victory in the competition to complete a memorable evening.

Unhappy debut for Colom

Zvezda gave a debut to newly-signed point guard Quino Colom. The playmaker scored 5 points in just under 10 minutes on the floor.

Next round

Zenit will be on the road to take on Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv next Tuesday, December 29, while Zvezda returns home to take on Panathinaikos OPAP Athens on Wednesday.

Billy Baron - Zenit St Petersburg - EB20
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Euroleague.net
Referees: RADOVIC, SRETEN; MOGULKOC, EMIN; ALIAGA, JORDI
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234
Zenit St Petersburg30182129
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade12251715
End of Quarter1234
Zenit St Petersburg30486998
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade12375469
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 22:07 23 1/2 7/8     4 4 2 2 1     3 1 26
3 ZAKHAROV, DENIS 7:56 3 1/1   1/2 1   1 1 1 1     2 2 4
4 PANGOS, KEVIN 21:27 17 2/3 3/4 4/4       5   2   1 2 3 18
7 FRIDZON, VITALY 5:18         1   1           1    
9 HOLLINS, AUSTIN 10:53     0/1   1 1 2 1   1     3   -2
10 THOMAS, WILL 24:23 7 1/3 1/3 2/2   4 4 1         2 3 9
12 BARON, BILLY 25:04 13 2/2 2/4 3/3   1 1 5   2     1 2 16
14 PUSHKOV, ANTON 2:40   0/1     1   1     1     1 1 -1
20 ZUBKOV, ANDREY 15:34 9 3/4 1/3         1 1 1       1 8
22 POYTHRESS, ALEX 19:49 7 3/3 0/1 1/2   3 3 2 1 2     2 2 9
25 PONITKA, MATEUSZ 27:21 7 0/2 2/2 1/2   1 1 6 3 1     3 3 13
77 GUDAITIS, ARTURAS 17:28 12 4/5   4/5   1 1       1     3 15
Team           2   2               2
Totals 200:00 98 17/26 16/26 16/20 6 15 21 24 8 12 1 1 20 21 117
        65.4% 61.5% 80%
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
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 O'BRYANT, JOHNNY 21:55 13 4/6 1/1 2/2 1 2 3 1 1 5 1   3 3 12
1 HALL, LANGSTON 3:13   0/2                         -2
2 WALDEN, COREY 22:57 8 1/4 1/1 3/4   2 2 2 1 3     2 3 7
4 USKOKOVIC, ALEKSA 19:21 7 3/4   1/2 1   1 2   1     4 3 6
7 DAVIDOVAC, DEJAN 25:52 10 2/2 1/2 3/4 1 1 2 2   2     2 2 10
10 LAZIC, BRANKO 9:50 3   1/1         1   1     1   2
11 REATH, DUOP 7:44 2 1/1 0/1   1 1 2           1   2
13 DOBRIC, OGNJEN 24:38 9 3/4 0/2 3/4 1   1   2 2     1 4 9
19 SIMONOVIC, MARKO 21:52 4 1/2 0/1 2/2   3 3   2 2     2 2 5
21 JAGODIC-KURIDZA, MARKO 19:56 4 1/3 0/1 2/3   1 1 1 1 1     3 2 1
32 KUZMIC, OGNJEN 12:51 4 2/3     2   2 1         1   5
55 COLOM, QUINO 9:51 5 1/3 1/1     1 1     1   1 1 1 2
Team             3 3     1         2
Totals 200:00 69 19/34 5/11 16/21 7 14 21 10 7 19 1 1 21 20 61
        55.9% 45.5% 76.2%
Head coach: OBRADOVIC, SASA

Head Coaches

PASCUAL, XAVI
Zenit St Petersburg
"Today we did everything okay. We had one moment in the second quarter when they were better than us, but over the whole game, we did a great job. We approached the game well on defense and after that, on offense, we had this calm that sometimes we didn’t have. Tonight we have to be happy and congratulate the players for a great job."
OBRADOVIC, SASA
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade
"For me personally, it’s a bit embarrassing the way we lost the game. We don’t talk about the difference in quality, we know it exists. You know, we got beaten by Zenit from the beginning and our reaction to all this was not good. They were more physical, they fought more and we didn’t respond the same way. A little bit rushed in the second quarter, but it wasn’t enough. Zenit deserved to win. I congratulate them."

Players

RIVERS, KC
Zenit St Petersburg
"Finally for me getting the ball with my shooting touch, hopefully, that will be a recurring performance from me. The team played well from the start to finish. We had a couple of misfocused moments in the second quarter, but generally offensively and defensively, we played well and should be proud of ourselves. The three-pointers just came with the feel of the game, the shots were open and as a shooter, you miss all the ones you don’t take. I took every opportunity and tonight they went in."
PANGOS, KEVIN
Zenit St Petersburg
"I started off well, shooting the ball, and then my teammates took over. We played very well in the second half, hitting shots and playing great defense. I think tonight was a team effort. Everyone contributed and did their part when they got on the court. That’s what you need in a game like this. It was one of our most complete performances from start to finish."
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