Crvena Zvezda snap Olympiacos' winning streak behind 25 points from Kalinic / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade (5-9) Credit Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade (5-9)

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade (6-8) put an end to a three-game winning streak by Olympiacos Piraeus (9-5), edging out the Greek powerhouse in Serbia81-76 (19-15, 17-23, 20-15, 25-23).

Crvena Zvezda Belgrade / Schedule

Zenit Saint Petersburg Crvena Zvezda Belgrade58-69 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade Olympiakos Piraeus81-76 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade FC BarcelonaTue18:00

Both squads traded leads in an intense fourth quarter, with Kostas Sloukas tying the match at 69. However, Nate Wolters and Luka Mitrovic answered with four straight points, providing the hosts with some breathing room (73-69).

Nikola Kalinic and Branko Lazic iced the game for Zvezda, scoring five straight points in crunch time, and helping them solidify a five-point victory.

"Congratulations to my players for the win and also for a good game," Zvezda's coach Radonjic said post-game. "We played the game with a lot of energy. Like I said before the game, it was very important to play with a focus all the time end in the last several minutes we played defensively good, but smart on offense and that was very important."

Crvena Zvezda started the game well, gaining an early 9-2 lead. They maintained an advantage throughout the first quarter, winning it by four (19-15).

Nikola Kalinic increased Zvezda's advantage to six (34-28), but Olympiacos finished the first half with a 10-2 run to gain a two-point edge going into the break (38-36).

Sasha Vezenkov helped Olympiacos increase their cushion to five (41-36), but the hosts came back to regain a narrow lead (47-46). Both teams continued going back and forth throughout the rest of the third quarter, but it was Zvezda that went into the final period with a lead (56-53).

Nikola Kalinic led Zvezda with 25 points (8/13 2PT, 2/4 3PT, 3/3 FT), 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 turnovers, and 27 PIR.

"They are for sure one of the favorites to win the EuroLeague is here," Kalinic said after the game. "We protected our basket, started rebounding better and after that, everything came. You see how we play, we help each other. Everything I did today is built on the back of everybody on the team."

Crvena Zvezda: Nikola Kalinic 23 (6 AST), Luka Mitrovic 12 (8 REB), Dejan Davidovac 11, Nikola Ivanovic 10, Nate Wolters 10, Branko Lazic 6.

Olympiacos: Tyler Dorsey 18, Kostas Sloukas 12, Sasha Vezenkov 12, Hassan Martin 8 (6 REB), Shaquielle McKissic 8.

Highlights:

Support BasketNews so we could make even better content.