MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) – Avtodor Saratov and Bakken Bears began the Second Round with jaw-dropping displays, while Dinamo Sassari opened the proceedings in the Group of Death by handing Donar Groningen their first home defeat in nearly two years.

There was ample drama in Wednesday's action in the FIBA Europe Cup, but there was none to be found in Group L with Avtodor defeating Kataja Basket by 41 points and Bakken Bears tearing up ZZ Leiden by an equally-impressive 40-point margin.

Tre McLean captured the top scorer honors for Avtodor in a lopsided 98-57 victory against the visitors from Finland with 17 points, while Anthony Ireland and Artem Zabelin chipped in with 16 points apiece.

🏆🌍 «+41»! РАСКАТАЛИ «КАТАЙЮ»
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14 безответных очков в середине стартовой четверти позволили «Автодору» добиться двузначного лидерства и, постепенно наращивая гандикап, разгромить @KatajaBasket - 98:57.
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Подробности:https://t.co/o3nGi4lpw2 pic.twitter.com/PgPwVCmgmE

— BC Avtodor Saratov (@AvtodorSaratov) December 12, 2018

Trae Golden, and Nikita Mikhailovskii also entered double-digit territory, as David Kravish stuffed the other categories in the boxscore with 8 points, 15 rebounds and 4 steals.

"Every win at the start is really important for all of us. For every player in the team, for the coaching staff and for the club. I'm glad we started like this. Honestly, the way how we played from the first to the last second of the game gave me much more satisfaction than the win itself," a happy Dusan Alimpijevic offered praise in the press conference.

Meanwhile, Bakken Bears roared to a 111-71 win over ZZ Leiden in Aarhus after outscoring the Dutch side 40-15 in the final quarter of play to turn the contest into a rout.

Bakken Bears får den perfekte start på andet gruppespil med en storsejr over ZZ Leiden med 111-71

— Bakken Bears (@bakkenbears) December 12, 2018

Tobin Carberry had a team-high 22 points and 5 assists for the winners, while Hayden Dalton and Ryan Evans added 14 and 13 points, respectively.

On the other end of the court, Darius Thompson collected a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds for ZZ Leiden, as Worthy De Jong added 17 points and 7 boards.

"We played well and won today, but it is far from over. It is a very tough group we are in. You can tell by the fact that we won by forty points today but we are only second in the group," Bakken Bears head coach Steffen Wich spoke of Group L.   

"That shows how strong of a team Avtodor Saratov is. It is going to be tough for all teams with the long travels to Russia and back. It is an exciting group and everything can still happen."

.@dinamo_sassari end @Donar_Official's home winning streak! #FIBAEuropeCup

📝 https://t.co/9egBUCHRJv pic.twitter.com/Adl68WdXiC

— FIBA Europe Cup (@FIBAEuropeCup) December 12, 2018

Elsewhere, Donar Groningen's league-best streak of 14 consecutive home wins came to an end at the hands of Dinamo Sassari, who beat the Dutch title-holders 84-78 in a Group K contest at the MartiniPlaza, which last witnessed a defeat in the FIBA Europe Cup back in December of 2016.

Rashawn Thomas carried the Italian side offensively with 24 points and 7 rebounds, Achille Polonara scored 17 points in under 15 minutes of playing time, while Terran Petteway added 10 points.

In his European return for Donar, Lance Jeter registered a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds with 4 assists, but couldn't prevent the loss.

Esordio con il botto per la @PallVarese nel #SecondRound di @FIBAEuropeCup! I biancorossi superano @AEK_LARNAKA 1⃣0⃣9⃣ a 7⃣4⃣ al termine di una partita sempre al comando! Tutti insieme #GOVARESE pic.twitter.com/AQyTJP91EJ

— Pallacanestro Varese (@PallVarese) December 12, 2018

In the other game in the group, Pallacanestro Varese steamrolled Petrolina AEK 109-74 behind a 21-point effort by Pablo Bertone and 17 points apiece from Aleksa Avramovic and Thomas Scrubb.

Over in Group J, Balkan Botevgrad erased a double-digit deficit against Alba Fehervar to come out with an 88-82 victory in overtime, while Ironi Ness Ziona rode the hot hand of Golan Gutt to hand Lukoil Levski their first home defeat in Sofia in a high-scoring 98-89 affair.

A game of two contrasting halves saw Pinar Karsiyaka begin the Second Round with a close-fought 74-70 win against Szolnoki Olaj in Group I, holding the Hungarian side to just 23 points after the intermission.

🏆 @fibaeuropecup 2. Tur 1. Hafta | Maç Sonucu@SzolnokiOlaj 70-74 #PınarKarşıyaka#TebriklerTAKIM pic.twitter.com/7sx5CLn7dE

— Pınar Karşıyaka (@KSKBasket) December 12, 2018

The trio of Sek Henry, Assem Marei and Ilkan Karaman accounted for 57 of the Turkish team's points in a 22-20-15 split, while Strahinja Milosevic scored a team-high 19 points for the hosts

s.Oliver Wurzburg joined Karsiyaka at the top of the table after defeating Z Mobile Prishtina 95-77 with six different players in double figures and the second unit outscoring the Kosovar side's bench 51-8.

FIBA