Euroleague Top 16, FC Barcelona responds

Round 4 of the Euroleague Top 16 ended on Friday and brought a big win for Barcelona in Group E, while current champs Maccabi Tel-Aviv kept winning momentum in Group E. In Group F Nizhny Novgorod put together its performance of the season with a huge home win over Anadolu Efes, while Olympiacos stayed untouched at the Top 16 stage of the competition with a victory over Laboral Kutxa Vitoria.

Group E
The pressure was on Barcelona as the Spanish club hosted Crvena Zvezda Belgrade at home. The Catalan giant lost last week and was sitting on a losing 1-2 record before overcoming the Serbian club tonight in a 92-77 victory. A tight opening to the game was snapped when the hosts hit 12 points without reply to lead 49-38 through halftime. Crvena Zvezda stayed in touch in the third act, but Barcelona paced to victory in the fourth. Barca had six players score in double figures, including Ante Tomic’s 12 points and 10 rebounds double-double. Crvena Zvezda has been in every game, but the Serbian is finding it tough in its first ever Euroleague Top 16 and now sits on a losing 0-4 record.

Maccabi Tel Aviv won its third consecutive game by defeating Zalgiris Kaunas 66-73 on the road. The current Euroleague champions are warming into the season and looks to be hitting another gear at the right time. Sylven Landesberg scored 20 points for the winners as they used a 14-25 burst in the fourth quarter to win the game and drop Zalgiris to 1-3 in Group E. Paulius Jankunas set the tone for the Kaunas team with 18 points and 13 boards, but it was not enough to give the hosts the win.

Group F
Nizhny Novgorod put on the attacking display of the week as the Russian club put Anadolu Efes Istanbul to the sword with a 109-90 victory. Efes has been in strong form, but the Turkish club met a Nizhny team finally hitting its Euroleague stride, with both teams now locked at 2-2 in Group F. Artsiom Parakhouski topped the Russians with 27 points, while Trey Thompkins (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Taylor Rochestie (19 points and 15 assists) both doubled up for Nizhny. The hosts also dished 26 assists in a well-rounded attacking display that overwhelmed the Istanbul contingent.

Olympiacos has found a winning blend of steel and power so far in the Euroleague Top 16 and the Greek powerhouse progressed to 4-0 in Group F with a 76-64 win over Laboral Kutxa. Olympiacos tied with CSKA Moscow at 4-0 at the top of the group, while Laboral Kutxa could not build on last week’s victory.