Nemanja Nedovic's near-perfect shooting night made it happen
Crvena Zvezda spoils the party for Paris, 77-80
In the first-ever Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game hosted at Adidas Arena, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade edged Paris Basketball 77-80 in the French capital in Round 1 of the 2024-25 season.
Nemanja Nedovic paced the winners with 21 points on 5-of-6 three-pointers. His only miss came late in the game as he helped Zvezda rally from a 13-point second-half deficit. Isaiah Canaan added 14 points for Zvezda. TJ Shorts led Paris with 16 points. Nadir Hifi and Maodo Lo each added 12 while Kevarrius Hayes had 10 for the hosts.
Game Videos
Nikola Kalinic got Zvezda going with a three-pointer and Joel Bolomboy erased Hayes's jumper with an alley-oop dunk for a 2-5 lead. Hayes scored again, then Canaan followed a triple with a layup to boost the guests' lead to 4-10. Bolomboy capped a 0-7 run with a tip-in, then Leon Kratzer matched that with a floater and Lo followed a three-pointer with a driving layup to cut Paris's deficit to 11-12. Ognjen Dobric and a red-hot Lo traded layups before Canaan found space for a wide-open triple. Collin Malcolm answered from downtown and Shorts hit his trademark pump-fake jumper to give Paris its first lead, 18-17, after 10 minutes.
Shorts buried consecutive jumpers for a 22-17 Paris lead early in the second quarter. Nedovic struck from beyond the arc and matched Hayes's basket with a wild driving layup. Codi Miller-McIntyre sank a jumper off the dribble and Nedovic buried another three-pointer to complete the guests' comeback, 26-27. Rokas Giedraitis and Lo each joined the three-point shootout, then Malcolm's three-point play put Paris back in charge, 32-30. Nadir Hifi found his first points, Yago dos Santos and Mikael Jantunen traded layups, and Shorts soon boosted his team's lead to 39-33. Canaan hit a jumper but Jantunen and an unstoppable Shorts boosted the hosts' margin to 43-35 at halftime.
Canaan scored in penetration soon after the break, then Tyson Ward single-handedly made it a double-digit game, 47-37. Hayes made a pair of free throws and Hifi added a floater to give Paris a 51-38 advantage. Mike Daum scored down low and erased Hifi's driving layup with a jump hook before Luka Mitrovic brought Zvezda within single digits, 53-45. Miller-McIntyre took over with a fast-break layup, Kalinic added a tip-in and Nedovic got the guests even closer at 53-51 after an 0-11 run. Ward swished a corner triple, Bolomboy stepped up with a reverse layup and Shorts restored a 58-53 Paris lead. Nedovic buried a huge three-pointer and Mitrovic's layup tied it at 58-58 after 30 minutes.
Miller-McIntyre scored around the basket to put Zvezda in charge, 58-60. Ward matched that with a put-back layup and Jantunen buried a three-pointer. An unstoppable Nedovic got help from Giedraitis to keep Zvezda ahead, 63-67, with over seven minutes left. Jantunen kept pacing Paris and Hifi buried a rainbow shot from beyond the arc for a 68-67 Paris lead. Nedovic answered from downtown, Kalinic bettered Lo's short jumper with his own triple and Mitrovic scored down low to make Paris call a timeout at 70-75. Shorts hit a stop-and-pop jumper and matched Miller-McIntyre's basket with an outstanding driving layup that gave Paris hope at 74-77 with a minute left. Hifi and Miller-McIntyre each split free throws, then Hifi returned to the line, hitting both attempts for a 77-78 score with 8.3 seconds remaining. Canaan made foul shots and Hifi could not take a shot before the final buzzer.