Zalgiris Kaunas remained perfect on the season with its third straight road win on Tuesday, 69-75 over Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall.
Zalgiris leaves Belgrade with perfect record intact
Zalgiris Kaunas remained perfect on the season with its third straight road win on Tuesday, 69-75 over Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall. Zalgiris became the first team to ream three wins while dropping Zvezda to 1-2. The Lithuanian champs kept Zvezda to just 2 points in the first 7 minutes of the fourth quarter and held on late for their third straight win on the road. Lukas Lekavicius came off the bench for 16 points on near-perfect shooting to lead the winners and Joffrey Lauvergne returned from a one-game hiatus to post 12 points and 8 rebounds. Jordan Loyd paced the Zvezda attack with 19 points and Dejan Davidovac and Corey Walden netted 11 points apiece.
Round 2 MVP Loyd remained hot with a three-pointer for the game's first points. A Marius Grigonus layup was all Zalgiris could musted in the game's first 5 minutes as the hosts raced to a 9-2 start. Teenager Rokas Jokubaitis came off the Zalgiris bench to hit a jumper and assist on a Lekavicius triple that rallied the visitors to tie it at 11-11. Paulius Jankunas free throws gave Zalgiris its first lead, 14-15, but Zvezda came right back through Langston Hall and the score was tied at 19-19 after 10 minutes. Ognjen Kuzmic got going for the hosts to jump ahead 26-23 before Steve Vasturia responded for Zalgiris to take a 29-30 advantage. Lauvergne had 3 offensive rebounds on a single possession before converting a three-point play to make it 31-36. Martinas Geben scored 3 points and blocked a shot in the final minute of the half to leave Zalgiris with a 33-39 cushion at halftime.
A three by Nigel Hayes to start the second half gave Zalgiris its biggest lead of the night, but Davidovac scored 8 in a 10-0 run as Zvezda surged ahead 43-42. The lead switched hands several times over the ensuing minutes with Lauvergne and then Loyd playing big roles. A one-legged fadeaway jumper by Augustine Rubit lifted Zalgiris in front 60-62 at the end of the third quarter. Zvezda was held without a basket in the first 7 minutes of the fourth quarter while Jokubaitis drilled a three to make it 62-69. Zvezda turned things around, keeping Zalgiris without a point for more than 5 minutes before a jumper by Hall got Zvezda within 2. Zalgiris made 6 free throws without a miss in the final minute to hold on for the victory.
Game Leaders
Pivotal player
Thomas Walkup had a tough night; he was limited by foul trouble and did not score in his 14 minutes on the floor. Zalgiris turned to Rokas Jokubaitis in his place and the teenager went wild with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in a brilliant effort. He shined early to help Zalgiris turn around a first-quarter deficit and later drilled a big three-pointer in the fourth quarter that put his team up 7.
Telling numbers
Zalgiris committed 15 turnovers and collected just 3 steals, which could make it tough to win on the road. However, the visitors dominated the glass, outrebounding Zvezda 25-36. Four Zalgiris played contributed at least 5 rebounds: Joffrey Lauvergne had 8, Rokas Jokubaitis 6 and Nigel Hayes and rebounding king Paulius Jankunas grabbed 5 each.