Dolomiti Energia Trento protected its home floor and solidified its position in a tight playoff race by holding off visiting 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys 76-70 on Wednesday night. With the win, Trento not only improved to a 6-7 record and a share of the fifth-best record in Group B, but also gave it a season-sweep of its direct playoff-chasing rival Lietkabelis, which dropped to 5-8.
Trento holds off Lietkabelis, 76-70



Trento trailed only in the opening minute and controlled the majority of the game. Its lead was as big as 12 points late in the second quarter, and reached 11 points in the third. Lietkabelis was not going away, but Kamar Baldwin made sure Trento never relinquished its lead before Andrejs Grazulis finished the job.
Grazulis collected 18 points and 7 rebounds while Davide Alviti netted 14 on 4-for-5 three-point shooting to lead the winners. Baldwin and Paul Biligha added 12 points apiece with Baldwin also dishing 5 assists. Deividas Sirvydis paced the visitors with 21 points and 7 rebounds, Paulius Valinskas scored 11 and Nikola Popovic 10 points in defeat.
Game Videos
Grazulis was front and center for Trento early on, scoring the first 8 points, including a three-pointer from each corner. He also set up Myles Stephens's alley-oop dunk that opened a 12-5 lead, but Lietkabelis replied with a 0-7 run capped by a triple from Sirvydis. Toto Forray hit a three on one end, before Sirvydis and Alviti traded triples, making it 20-17 at the end of the first quarter.
The scoring slowed down in the second as Luca Conti made a triple to extend the margin to 25-17. Trento held the visitors to a single basket in the first 5 minutes of the quarter, a three-pointer from Liutauras Lelevicius. Trento's defense was not letting down, helping create a 7-0 run that included a transition three from Baldwin and opened a 34-22 margin. Paulius Valinskas snapped the drought with a three-point play and Nikola Popovic battled inside to get Lietkabelis within 35-27 after two quarters.
Lietkabelis halved the deficit after just two possessions, but Trento answered with Biligha scoring twice from close range and Alviti knocking down a three-pointer to cap a 9-1 run and make it 44-33. But Lietkabelis was not going away, scoring 7 unanswered points, including Lelevicius making a corner three in transition. The teams traded blows the rest of the quarter, but Baldwin's 5 points, a mid-range jumper and a triple, helped Trento to a 54-46 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Sirvydis and Baldwin traded baskets before Valinskas and Gabrielius Maldunas cut the deficit to 56-52. Alviti and Gediminas Orelik exchanged three-pointers and it remained a 4-point margin midway through the fourth quarter. Alviti nailed another triple, his fourth, and Grazulis scored twice inside to open 70-61 lead with 2:06 to go. Trento made another defensive stand, before Baldwin restored a double-digit lead and then pulled down an offensive rebound to ice the game.