Crvena Zvezda hosted Žalgiris Kaunas in the EuroLeague on 24th September, but the visitors took the 83-77 victory. The result keeps both sides in their respective positions, with Žalgiris maintaining fifth place and Crvena Zvezda holding tenth after 38 games each.
To be fair, the away side had been finding their rhythm. They won three straight before this fixture, beating Neptunas 93-69 and Gargždai 98-77, then closing out the run with a comfortable margin over the hosts. Crvena Zvezda, meanwhile, had been on the wrong side of recent results — losing to Subotica 89-90 and suffering two defeats against Partizan.
The numbers tell a story about how the game was won. Žalgiris pulled down 40 rebounds to 34, and their 6 blocks compared with 3 at home showed they controlled the paint. Crvena Zvezda hit 10 three-pointers against 8, but the visitors' 19 successful free throws from 27 attempts made the difference when it mattered.
And here's the thing about the foul trouble — 26 personal fouls for the hosts against 21 for the visitors. That extra seven free throw attempts at the line, combined with the rebounding edge, is where the gap opened up.
By then, with Crvena Zvezda sitting on 21 wins and 17 losses, the season was reaching its critical phase. Žalgiris, with 23 victories, had built enough cushion to stay comfortable in the upper half. The scoreline reflected a match decided in the details rather than any single moment.
