Zalgiris convincingly defeated Baskonia by 94:76, keeping their hopes alive for a spot in the EuroLeague play-in phase.
Mike Kotsar scored the first points of the game, and cheers echoed from the stands as over 1000 Estonians came to Kaunas. The game started at a good pace, with both teams demonstrating beautiful basketball. Codi Miller-McIntyre made a nice drive to the basket and scored to make it 13-9. Then, the hosts went on an 8-0 run to lead 19-15. Hayes then hit two mid-range shots to extend the lead to 23-17, the largest lead of the game for the hosts after the first quarter, which ended 25-17.
The team of Andrea Trinchieri quickly extended the lead to 10 points early in the second quarter. Baskonia shot 0/6 from three-point range, with Matt Costello being the only player in rhythm. There was no fluidity in the offense of Dusko Ivanovic’s team, while the green team played exceptionally well. They reached a 14-point lead with team play. Even free throws weren’t going in for Baskonia, while Zalgiris played in their rhythm. The halftime score was 48-34.
Finally, Baskonia hit a three-pointer, with Markus Howard being the scorer. Vanja Marinkovic followed with another three. However, Arnas Butkevicius had an answer for that. Baskonia then attempted a comeback, but Dimsa started a scoring streak and extended the lead to 13 points. Brady Manek hit another three-pointer after a timeout.