Sometimes, you have to appreciate greatness. That was the case on Thursday, when an instrumental performance by Milos Teodosic led Crvena Zvezda to a 98:92 victory over Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in what was a home game in Belgrade.
The yellows, who came in after two succesive wins, dropped to a 9-7 record with one game remaining in the EuroLeague’s first round of games. It happened despite 22 points by Wade Baldwin, 20 by Lorenzo Brown and 18 by Josh Nebo, who improved his personal best for the second game in a row.
Maccabi trailed for most of the contest, with Teodosic (27 points and 14 assists) leading the locals to a 17-point lead after the break. The Israeli champs never gave up and fought their way back to a six-point deficit in the final minute, but could not complete a comeback.
The team will now head back to Israel for a pair of league bouts, at home against Hapoel Haifa on Saturday and in Beer Sheva on Monday, before heading out to Kaunas to face Zalgiris on Thursday.
