Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz led from start to finish in its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season finale, beating Zalgiris Kaunas 96-79 on Friday night at Buesa Arena. Baskonia ends the season with a 12-16 record, while Zalgiris drops to 7-20 with one game to go.
Baskonia finishes season in style, slams Zalgiris 96-79
Baskonia used a massive first quarter in which it made 4-of-5 triples and 9-of-10 two-point shots to open a 35-15 lead. The margin was as big as 30 points in the second quarter, and Zalgiris never threatened after that. Baskonia had seven scorers in double figures. Steven Enoch led with 18 points and 6 rebounds, followed by Rokas Giedraitis with 17 points. Matthew Costello scored 15, Tadas Sedekerskis collected 11 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Simone Fontecchio also scored 11 with 6 assists, while Alec Peters and Vanja Marinkovic netted 10 apiece. Lukas Lekavicius led Zalgiris with a game-high 20 points. Karolis Lukosiunas netted 12, and Joffrey Lauvergne 10 points in a losing effort.
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Baskonia opened the game with a 15-2 run, featuring a triple from Giedraitis, and some easy baskets for Costello, Fontecchio and Peters. Niels Giffey had a tip-in and Lauvergne a dunk to cut it to 19-8, but the hosts answered with an 11-1 run as Enoch, Giedraitis and Fontecchio each nailed three-pointers. Tyler Cavanaugh made a corner three for the visitors, but Peters beat the buzzer from close range to make it 35-15 after 10 minutes.
Marinkovic opened the second quarter with a three-pointer, and Sedekerskis added one of his own to make it 41-17. Lukosiunas knocked down a triple for Zalgiris, but Fontecchio matched that with a basket-and-one, before Enoch and Sedekerskis opened a 52-32 margin. Lauvergne and Edgaras Ulanovas gave Zalgiris life, before Lukosiunas and Lekavicius nailed a triple apiece. Nebo ended the first half with a put-back layup, capping a 3-16 run that made it 57-40 at halftime.
Costello scored twice early in the third quarter, before Arturas Milaknis connected from downtown. Giedraitis hit a triple, but Lukosiunas answered, and Lekavicius cut the deficit to 66-50. But Costello had a three-point play as he strung together 7 points, before Marinkovic capped a quarter-ending 11-0 run that opened a 77-50 margin after 30 minutes.
The hosts slowed down in the fourth. Giedraitis connected again from behind the three-point arc, but Lekavicius scored twice for Zalgiris, before Milaknis and Lekavicius nailed triples, cutting it to 84-66. Marinkovic had a three-pointer, before Lukosiunas and Giedraitis traded triples as the game winded down with Baskonia having the victory wrapped up long ago.