Zalgiris emerged victorious in their away game against Baskonia, defeating them 99-82 in the fourth round of the EuroLeague.
Right from the start, it was clear that the visitors were not going to offer much resistance to their opponents. With a solid and aggressive defense coupled with smart offensive play, Kazys Maksvytis‘ team troubled their opponents, controlling their rhythm right from the opening minutes. The style of play employed by the home team suited the Lithuanian squad, who had no difficulty adjusting to this “run and gun” style of basketball. Given these factors, Zalgiris established an eight-point lead after the first quarter, which wasn’t much of a surprise.
The second half didn’t start any better for Baskonia. Brady Manek connected on two three-pointers, extending Zalgiris’ lead to a significant 16 points. The same player continued to trouble the opposition’s defense in the subsequent minutes, until Chima Moneke and Markus Howard entered the stage, leading a significant rally for the Penarroyo team. Zalgiris somehow managed to “survive” Howard’s surge, who scored 17 points in the first half, ending the first half with a seven-point lead.
The team led by Maksvytis started the third quarter exceptionally strong, maintaining a lead of up to 18 points after a basket by Rolands Smits. This time, the guests were able to keep the situation under control, and they didn’t allow the opposition to come too close until the end of that period. Tomas Dimsa also started to shine, significantly contributing to keeping Baskonia at a safe distance.
However, Moneke reappeared in the closing moments of the game and reduced the deficit to a single-digit margin, causing some concern that the game might become more complicated. It was Smits and Keenan Evans who ultimately delivered the final blow to Baskonia and sealed another victory for Zalgiris.
BASKONIA – ZALGIRIS 82:99 (14:22, 25:24, 22:28, 21:25)
Arena: Fernando Buesa arena, Vitoria; Referees: Pastusiak, Kowalski, Peer.
Baskonia: Howard 26, Mannion 2, Raieste, Sedekerskis 6, Marinkovic, Miller McIntyre 7, Diez 2, Rogkavopoulos 4, Kotsar 2, Costello 1, Moneke 32.
Zalgiris: Evans 14, Mitrou-Long 9, Lekavicius, Hayes 2, Giedraitis 13, Smits 21, Birutis 6, Dimsa 13, Lavrinovicius, Manek 17, Butkevicius 2, Ulanovas 2.