Coach Masiulis's team had six players score in double digits in Round 21
Zalgiris's team-oriented offense seals the deal against Zvezda
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 21 of 38
Regular Season
Zalgiris KaunasZAL
9967
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet BelgradeCZV
Overview
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Zalgiris Kaunas showed its true potential and depth in Round 21, thrashing visiting Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 99-67 in front of an amazing crowd at Zalgirio Arena. Coach Tomas Masiulis got a solid contribution from most of his players, which led to an easier-than-expected victory.
Azuolas Tubelis was the first Zalgiris player to step up, hitting a corner three-pointer and adding a pair of free throws before a backdoor slam in a 13-3 opening run which made Zvezda call its first timeout.
When Tubelis cooled off, other players stepped up. Maodo Lo came off the bench to provide instant offense, Moses Wright had two blocks in quick succession on Ebuka Izundu, and Sylvain Francisco was simply all over the place, finding good shots everywhere and creating for others. At halftime, Francisco had 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a PIR of 16. Zalgiris made half of its 14 shots from beyond the arc, while Zvezda also took 14 three-point shots, converting just one.
"I'm happy with my performance individually, but I feel wonderful that we got a win. This is the most important tonight," Tubelis said after the game. "I think [this win gives us] more confidence because of the way we share the ball. Sometimes we don't and then we look kind of stupid on TV. Just to share the ball, just enjoy team basketball... everything is working when we share the ball."
After shooting well in the first quarter (54.5% 2FG, 75% 3FG), Zalgiris was less accurate in the next 10 minutes but pulled down 5 offensive rebounds in the second period. In short, Zalgiris led 47-28 at the break and was well on its way to add its 12th victory.
Far from being done, Zalgiris kept rolling after the break as a huge two-handed dunk by Wright made it a 24-pont game, 60-36. Zvezda eventually gave up early in the fourth quarter and all Zalgiris fans had plenty of time to celebrate one of the biggest wins of the season. Even Zalgiris legend Arvydas Sabonis was all smiles in the stands late in the game when his face was shown in the jumbotron.
Zalgiris's second unit worked to perfection, getting 55 points off the bench against Zvezda's 23. The guests finished the game with 4-of-26 three-pointers, 19 assists and 16 turnovers. Zalgiris did much better in all three categories, hitting 13-of-26 triples, getting 27 assists to match its season-high effort and limiting its turnovers to just 11.
In short, a good night in the office for Zalgiris and a great start to the weekend for its fans.
"After every loss in the EuroLeague, to be able to bounce back and win is huge. We protected our home court in one of our few home games this month, so this was huge for us," Lo said. "It always goes hand in hand: you play good defense, it translates to offense. You are able to run if you get stops and rebound."
