Mirotic, Real Madrid top Zalgiris for key road win

Real Madrid started the 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague season in style by topping Zalgiris Kaunas 63-83 in Group B in front of 11,600 fans at Zalgirio Arena on Friday. Last season's Euroleague finalist dominated at both ends to register a valuable road win. The visitors forced Zalgiris into 18 first-half turnovers and scored 29 third-quarter points to seal the outcome long before the final buzzer. Nikola Mirotic paced the winners with 18 points on 3-of-4 three-point shooting. Sergio Llull added 17 on 5-of-5 two-point shooting. Rudy Fernandez tallied 11 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 steals while Ioannis Bourousis netted 10 points forMadrid. Paulius Jankunas led Zalgiris with 15 points and 8 rebounds and Sarunas Jasikevicius added 13 points. Saras kept Zalgiris within 13-16 after 10 minutes. Llull and Fernandez shined in the second quarter to boost the guests' lead to 24-35 at halftime. Madrid showcased its best basketball throughout the third quarter as Los Blancos boosted their margin to 44-64 and never looked back.