Baskonia thrives in offense at Zalgirio arena 26
Baskonia Vitoria grabbed its first road win of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season by downing Zalgiris Kaunas 77-97 on Thursday. Baskonia improved to 3-5 in the standings, while Zalgiris dropped to 4-4.
Paulius Jankunas led Zalgiris with 20 points. Vasilije Micic added 12 points and 8 assists and Arturas Milaknis scored 10 for the hosts.
Rodrigue Beaubois and Toko Shengelia led the winners with 19 points apiece. Shengelia also collected 8 rebounds. Johannes Voigtmann posted 15 points and 8 boards, Jayson Granger scored 14 and dished 7 assists and Matt Janning added 11 points for Baskonia, which drained 17 three-point shots to set a club record.
Zalgiris fell behind early, but erased almost all of a double-digit first-quarter deficit only to see Baskonia use 1-20 run to lead 32-54 at halftime. Jankunas and Micic stepped up after the break and Paulius Valinskas led a 14-0 run that brought Zalgiris within 57-68 late in the third quarter. Zalgiris managed to get within 64-71 on a three-pointer by Aaron White, but Beaubois struck twice from downtown and got help from Shengelia and Janning to seal the outcome before the final buzzer.
Voigtmann got Baskonia going with a turnaround jumper and Granger followed a driving layup with a three-pointer for a 2-7 lead. Voigtmann scored again and Timma hit from downtown, but Toupane and Milaknis brought Zalgiris within 7-12. Toupane ignited the crowd with an acrobatic layup and erased Vincent Poirier’s dunk with a jumper. Shengelia had 5 points in a 0-7 run that made it a double-digit game, 11-21, but a layup by White and a jump hook by Edgaras Ulanovas got Zalgiris within 15-21 after 10 minutes.
Beaubois hit a triple early in the second quarter before Micic and Jankunas fueled an 8-0 run that made it 23-24. Shengelia scored down low and Beaubois hit two more three-pointers, one from each corner, for a 27-32 Baskonia advantage. Jankunas scored again, but Baskonia used a rain of three-pointers – Granger hit two and Timma, Shengelia and Janning hit one apiece – to go on a 1-20 run and break the game open at 30-52. A layup by Micic and a jumper by Poirier fixed the halftime score at 32-54.
Voigtmann and Rinalds Malmanis joined the three-point shootout soon after the break to boost the lead to 36-62. Voigtmann dunked twice, but Micic and an outstanding Jankunas brought Zalgiris a bit closer, 48-68. Valinskas followed a layup with a triple, White dunked in traffic and free throws by Antanas Kavaliauskas capped a 14-0 run that gave the hosts hope at 57-68. A close basket by Marcelinho Huertas made it 57-70 after 30 minutes.
A three-pointer by White brought Zalgiris as close as 64-71 early in the fourth quarter. Beaubois took over with a couple of critical three-pointers and Voigtmann added a dunk for a 68-79 Baskonia lead with over four minutes left. A layup by Shengelia and a big triple by Janning sealed the outcome.
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