The picture was not pretty for Zalgiris Kaunas, as it was down 23-43 late in the first half of its Round 6 game against ALBA Berlin in front of a sellout crowd at Zalgirio Arena. Some teams may have given up, but Zalgiris chose to fight.
Zalgiris hit rock bottom but found answers on offense through Tyler Cavanaugh, who buried a three-pointer, and Lukas Lekavicius, who followed a jumper with a buzzer-beating driving layup to bring Zalgiris within 32-44 at the break.
"First of all, [a deficit of] 12 points is nothing after two quarters, and we spoke about that in the locker room," Zalgiris captain Edgaras Ulanovas said after the game. Zalgiris then carried its good momentum into the third quarter. Rolands Smits capped a 14-1 run that bridged between both halves to pull Zalgiris within 7 points, 37-44, following a three-pointer.