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Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade earned its first EuroLeague victory of the season with a 77-72 home win over Anadolu Efes Istanbul on Thursday, but the result was overshadowed by an apparent Achilles injury suffered by Mike James.
James went down without contact with 2:40 remaining in the third quarter and was visibly distressed as the game was stopped. He was eventually stretchered from the Belgrade Arena to a standing ovation from the home crowd, with players from both teams appearing concerned.
Efes head coach Pablo Laso did not confirm the extent of the injury but acknowledged the concern surrounding the EuroLeague’s all-time leading scorer.
“It doesn’t look good but we trust our medical staff and we will conduct more tests tomorrow when we return to Istanbul,” Laso said. “It’s a bad moment for the team when you see a player leaving the court the way he did, but we showed character to stay in the game. Not enough to win it though.”
James had made an impressive start before leaving the game, scoring 11 points in 22 minutes. He entered the contest averaging 15.0 points and 4.0 assists through his first three games with Efes.
James later addressed the injury on social media, writing: “Well it sucks….. F*cking awful. Thank you for everybody who reached out.”
The game itself was a tightly contested battle, with neither team able to establish consistent control. Crvena Zvezda eventually created separation in the closing stages, with Tyson Carter scoring seven of the team’s final nine points.
Chima Moneke led the winners with 18 points, including 13 in the third quarter. He made three three-pointers in a span of just over 30 seconds during the period and finished with seven rebounds.
Jordan Nwora added 12 points, while Carter scored 11. Crvena Zvezda shot 45.2 percent from two-point range and 28.6 percent from three, but forced Efes into 18 turnovers.
Jordan Loyd led Anadolu Efes with 17 points, while Dario Saric and Matthew Strazel each scored 13. Efes controlled the rebounding battle 46-43 but struggled from long range, making only six of 25 three-point attempts.
James is the EuroLeague’s all-time leading scorer after passing Vassilis Spanoulis for the record in March 2024. He later became the first player in competition history to reach 5,000 career points and has been selected to the All-EuroLeague Team five times.
The 2023-24 EuroLeague MVP joined Efes during the offseason after previous spells with Baskonia, Panathinaikos, Olimpia Milano and CSKA Moscow.
Crvena Zvezda improved to 1-2 with the victory, while Efes dropped to 1-2. Zvezda will visit Dubai Basketball next Thursday, while Efes travels to Olympiacos Piraeus on Friday.
