Barca win match

Ivanovic, who has led Barca to the Euroleague Final Four and the Spanish King's Cup title in his two and a half years at the club, was fired after the team failed to defend their King's Cup crown in last week's quarter-finals.

Assistant coach Xavi Pascual guided the hosts to a share of the Group G lead with CSKA Moscow after holding off a second-half fightback by their Liga rivals.

Jaka Lakovic led the hosts with 14 points, with Fran Vazquez adding 10 points and seven rebounds.

Critically, Malaga turned the ball over 21 times as a tight Barca defence took advantage of an error-filled night by the visitors.

Barcelona's arch-rivals and Liga leaders Real Madrid also won their Top 16 opener in dramatic style, overcoming visiting Zalgiris Kaunas 88-85 to grab a share of the top spot in Group F.

Jonas Maciulis almost helped his side to an amazing come-from-behind victory scoring a pair of three-pointers in the final minute.

But Raul Lopez sealed the three-point margin of victory by hitting a pair of free throws with five second left after running a crucial 11 seconds off of the clock before receiving the intentional foul.

Maciulis led all scorers with 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting, including three triples, while Louis Bullock and Felipe Reyes led the victors with 17 points a piece.

Maccabi Tel Aviv claimed the other top spot in Group F with a comfortable 75-65 victory over Olympiacos in Pireaus, Greece.

Yotam Halperin and Terence Morris led a rounded Maccabi attack with 16 points each, while Lynn Greer scored a game-leading 26 for the hosts.

Fenerbahce eased past Aris TT Bank 96-88 as another Greek side fell at home to begin the Top 16.

Willie Solomon was one of five double-digit scorers for the visitors, dumping in a game-leading 23 points including 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc.

Montepaschi Siena crushed visiting Partizan Belgrade 71-54 to claim a share of the lead in Group D with Efes Pilsen.

Kristof Lavrinovic led all scorers with 18 points and was also one of four Siena players to swipe five or more steals in a Euroleague record-breaking 29-steal night for the hosts.