The guard put on a one-man show to steer the home side to victory.
Rasheed Sulaimon shines as Wolves blast Prometey, 85-71
Wolves Vilnius enjoyed an impressive 85-71 home win over Prometey Slobozhanske in Round 6 of the BKT EuroCup Regular Season and improved to a 3-2 record in Group A thanks to a stellar performance from guard Rasheed Sulaimon.
The 29-year-old poured in 30 points and dished 7 assists, while Christian Mekowulu chipped in with 15 points for the home team. Treshawn Thurman added 13 points for Wolves. At the other end, Marcus Keene paced Prometey with 17 points, while Caleb Agada and Ondrej Baldvin netted 10 each for the visitors. Prometey slipped to 2-4 and now faces an uphill battle to secure a post-season berth.
Sulaimon carries Wolves early
A slow start by both sides soon made way for some delightful end-to-end action, with Sulaimon acting as a one-man army for Wolves in the first quarter. He scored 14 points in the opening 10 minutes to compensate for his team’s lack of cohesion, while Prometey shared the ball and the workload on offense, with the rivals tied 24-24 heading into the second period.
The second quarter produced a more physical battle and baskets became harder to come by. The visitors had ground out a 40-41 lead at halftime, having dominated assists (12-9) and rebounds (20-14) while containing Sulaimon to just 3 points.
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Third-quarter run proves decisive
However, the tide turned in the third as the home team found an extra gear and engineered a 17-4 run which gave Wolves the lead for good. Sulaimon then came up with a pair of sublime 3-point plays, drawing fouls on both occasions as he drove to the basket around his markers. Mekowulu joined the party and there was no way back for the visitors, who trailed 68-57 heading into the final period.
Any hopes of a comeback Prometey might have had were vanquished after Sulaimon hit another three-pointer and then a mid-range jumper, putting the icing on the cake for Wolves.