Zenit St Petersburg grabbed its fourth consecutive road win with a come-from-behind 82-90 victory over Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz on Tuesday night at Buesa Arena. Billy Baron led the winners with 24 points and backcourt mate Jordan Loyd added 23.
Baron, Loyd lead Zenit past Baskonia, 82-90
Jordan Mickey added 16 for Zenit, which improved to 14-7 to hold on to fourth place in the standings. Coach Pascual's side improved to 7-3 on the road, which is tied for best in the league. Wade Baldwin IV led Baskonia with 16 points, Steven Enoch added 15, Rokas Giedraitis scored 14 and Jayson Granger 13. The result was Baskonia's fourth consecutive loss and dropped its record to 7-15. Baskonia led for the first two and a half quarters and went into the fourth up 64-62. Loyd then took over and Baron's four-point play made it a double-digit game, 68-79, from which Baskonia could not recover.
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Enoch got Baskonia going with back-to-back jump hooks and soon added a three-pointer for a 7-2 lead. Alex Poythress scored down low, but Simone Fontecchio and Baldwin boosted the hosts' margin to 11-4. After Dmitry Kulagin struck from downtown, Enoch buried a jumper and Jayson Granger scored off a steal. Sergey Karasev responded with a triple and got help from Loyd and Mickey to bring Zenit within 17-14. Mickey bettered Baldwin's driving layup with back-to-back jumpers, but Fontecchio hit one from beyond the arc, restoring a 22-18 Baskonia lead. Mickey scored again and Tyson Carter erased Baldwin's dunk with a layup that brought the hosts within 24-22 after 10 minutes.
Alec Peters took over with a backdoor slam early in the second quarter, but Mindaugas Kuzminskas hit a three-pointer to get Zenit even closer, 26-25. Baskonia kept running its offense through Alec Peters, who stepped up with a layup and three-pointer in a 10-0 run in which Lamar Peters also had 5 points, making it a double-digit game at 36-25. Baron struck twice from downtown and Poythress dunked in a 0-10 run that saw Zenit return to the game, 36-35. Giedraitis joined the three-point shootout and Granger scored off the baseline, but a red-hot Baron brought the visitors within 41-40. Baldwin and Enoch each scored down low and Giedraitis boosted Baskonia's lead to 50-44 at halftime.
Granger beat the shot clock with a driving layup soon after the break and Giedraitis boosted Baskonia's margin to 54-45. Mickey had a big block on Matt Costello and buried another jumper to shift the game's momentum at 54-49. Baron took over with a floater, Mickey silenced the crowd with a dunk in traffic and Karasev completed Zenit's comeback, 54-55. Giedraitis rescued Baskonia with consecutive bombs from beyond the arc, but Baron kept Zenit close. Granger took over with a driving layup and Costello dunked only to see Loyd follow a three-point play with an off-balance basket to get the visitors within 64-62 after 30 minutes.
Lamar Peters scored in penetration early in the fourth quarter, but an unstoppable Loyd did better with a triple. Kulagin also struck from beyond the arc for a 66-68 Zenit edge. Baron found space for a driving layup and Loyd nailed a three-pointer off the dribble, causing Baskonia to stop the game at 68-73. Poythress scored off a great move in the low post and Baron added a wild four-point play that broke the game open, 68-79, with over 4 minutes left. Baldwin tried to change things for the hosts and Fontecchio buried a triple, bringing Baskonia within 73-81. Enoch, Granger and Baldwin hit free throws, but so did Baron and Poythress to seal the outcome, 78-85, in the next-to-last minute.