Zenit holds off depleted Zvezda in a thriller
Kevin Pangos netted a career-high 25 points, including a game-winning three-pointer with 27 seconds to go, to give Zenit St Petersburg a hard-fought 75-76 win over Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade on Friday night in the Serbian capital. In a battle that went down to the wire, Zenit snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 14-9, while Zvezda dropped to 7-17 on the season. Zenit led by as many as 15 points in the first half, and held a double-digit lead late in the third quarter, but Zvezda rallied behind Ognjen Dobric and Dejan Davidovac. The teams traded leads the rest of the way, before Pangos hit a second-chance triple after Mateusz Ponitka's offensive rebound, lifting Zenit to an important win. Pangos finished with 25 points on 5-for-6 three-point shooting and 7 assists, and was the only Zenit double-digit scorer. Zvezda's Jordan Loyd scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half, and Dobric netted all of his 13 points in the second half in a losing effort.