Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five Adriatic League finals by edging cross-town archrivals Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 85-82 in Game 1 at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall on Monday.
Zvezda takes win in Adriatic finals opener
Yago Dos Santos led the winners with 18 points and 6 assists. Milos Teodosic and Luka Mitrovic each added 14 points while Dejan Davidovac had 12 for Zvezda. James Nunnally led Partizan with 27 points on 6-for-9 three-point shooting. Kevin Punter added 13 points while Aleksa Avramovic scored 10 for the guests.
Nunnally struck from downtown and Punter added a driving layup to give Partizan a 17-20 lead after 10 minutes. Mateusz Ponitka and Nunnally soon boosted the guests' lead to 26-35. Branko Lazic and Dos Santos fueled a 9-0 run that tied score near halftime and Zach Leday's buzzer-beater for Partizan fixed the halftime score at 39-39. Zvezda improved its offense after the break, as Davidovac and Mitrovic gave their team a 55-48 margin. Nunnally, Punter and Jaleen Smith each hit a triple to keep Partizan within 64-61 after 30 minutes. Ponitka gave Partizan its last lead, 76-78, with under 3 minutes left, but Nemanja Nedovic, Dos Santos and Davidovac put Zvezda ahead 83-80 with 11 seconds left. Nunnally and Davidovac traded free throws, and Avramovic missed from beyond midcourt at the buzzer.