Brose Baskets blasted newcomer KK Zagreb 96-65

Brose Baskets Bamberg opened their 2011-12 Turkish Airlines Euroleague season in convincing fashion with a dominating 96-65 victory at home over KK Zagreb in Group B. P.J. Tucker led the way with 20 points while Casey Jacobsen and Marcus Slaughter each added 16 points for the two-time reigning German champion Brose Baskets, who caused 20 turnovers by Zagreb. Predrag Suput also had 15 points and Julius Jenkins chipped in 10 points for the host side. Zagreb was playing less than a week after replacing coach Ivica Buric on October 14 with Vlado Androic. The Croatian team was paced by Krunoslav Simon with 14 points, while Diante Garrett scored 11 points and Mario Kasun and Sean May each added 10. Zagreb next host Panathinaikos while Brose next take on CSKA Moscow in Russia.

Suput started the game with a jumper from the right side, as Mario Kasun answered inside at the other end. Krunoslav Simon gave Zagreb the lead 2-4 but Suput came up with three baskets in the paint and Brian Roberts nailed a triple to push the Bamberg out to a quick advantage, 14-6. Ante Masic stopped the surge initially with a three of his own, but Suput hit again inside – for his 10th point of the quarter – for an 18-9 Bamberg lead and a timeout for Zagreb. Four straight points by Simon cut the deficit to 18-13. But the guests struggled to bring the ball past mid-court against Bamberg’s press, the second time resulting in a long jumper by PJ Tucker for an 11-point lead, 24-13. Diante Garrett knocked down a three-ball from the left corner to trim the margin back to eight points before Tibor Pleiss’s two free-throws gave Bamberg a 26-16 lead after one quarter.

The second period started with a basket by Sean May and a free-throw from Josh Heytvelt to pull Zagreb to within 26-19. It took until the 7:25 mark for Brose Bamberg to get on the scoring board with Tucker’s three-point play after a put-back. And following another Zagreb turnover before half-court, Julius Jenkins drained a three-pointer from the left corner to expand the lead to 32-19. Kasun threw down a dunk to try to keep Zagreb in the game, 33-23. But the Croatian champion had no answer, as Slaughter twice used his athleticism inside and Suput hit a fast break layup for a 41-23 lead and another Zagreb timeout. Casey Jacobsen came out of the timeout with a triple to extend the lead to 21 points, 44-23, finishing off an 11-0 run. Damir Mulaomerovic’s three foul shots snapped a 4:32 scoreless stretch to make it 44-26, but Karsten Tadda answered right back with a three-ball and Suput converted a three-point play and the cushion reached 24 points, 50-26. May and Mulaomerovic scored to trim the gap to 20 points before Roberts’ score at the buzzer for a 52-30 Bamberg lead.

Jenkins opened the second half with the first basket, soon answered by Simon. A Pleiss jumper had the Bamberg margin back to 54-33, before Mulaomerovic and Simon hit back-to-back triples to bring Zagreb within 56-39, causing Brose coach Chris Fleming to call for a timeout. The hosts once again converted out of the timeout with Jenkins nailing a three-ball and Jacobsen hitting two more baskets for a 66-39 advantage. Simon nailed a triple and Kasun dunked to keep Zagreb within 69-45. But Jenkins’ jumper started a 9-0 run, which included an Anton Gavel three-pointer and a Slaughter dunk for a 78-45 cushion. Damir Rancic stopped the run with a three-pointer and Garrett’s jumper pared away a little more, closing the quarter at 80-50.

Garrett started the fourth quarter scoring for Zagreb to cut the gap to 28 points and a triple by Rancic made it 84-55. But the Croatian side could not stop the combination of Tucker and Slaughter, who pushed the margin to 37 points, 92-55, with one hustle or fast-break play after another. Zagreb scored the next eight points in the remaining few minutes of the blowout.