Zalgiris downs Real Madrid for the first EuroLeague win 15

Zalgiris Kaunas registered its first win of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season by downing Real Madrid 86-73 in front of a sellout crowd of 15,109 at Zalgirio Arena on Thursday. Zalgiris improved to 1-2 in the standings, while Real dropped to 2-1.

Zach LeDay led the winners with 26 points plus 9 rebounds. Nigel Hayes added 15 points, Marius Grigonis 13 and Edgaras Ulanovas scored 10 for Zalgiris.

Anthony Randolph paced Real with 15 points.

Hayes got Zalgiris going with a couple of three-pointers, a layup and a floater, good for a 10-2 Zalgiris lead. Randolph stepped up with a power layup and a triple, but Thomas Walkup and an unstoppable Hayes kept Zalgiris ahead, 14-7. Nico Laprovittola rescued Real with a floater and a three-pointer, but Ulanovas hit a jumper and LeDay dunked for an 18-15 Zalgiris edge after 10 minutes.

LeDay and Paulius Jankunas each downed a jumper early in the second quarter, but Jordan Mickey kept Real close, 22-19. Grigonis followed a floater with a triple and got help from Jankunas to give the hosts a 29-21 lead. Jaycee Carroll struck from beyond the arc and a fastbreak layup by Gabriel Deck caused Zalgiris to call timeout at 33-28. Carroll scored in penetration and Rudy Fernandez made it a 1-point game. LeDay and a three-pointer by Jock Landale helped Zalgiris to a 38-34 edge at halftime.

Hayes swished his third bomb from downtown soon after the break and Grigonis added a driving layup, but Causeur singlehandedly brought Real within 43-38. Grigonis scored again and Landale added a huge dunk, but Real kept finding good shots at the other end. Jeffery Taylor and Campazzo each buried a triple and Causeur added a driving layup in a 0-10 run that gave Real its first lead, 47-50. Alex Perez rescued the hosts with a jumper and a three-pointer that gave Zalgiris a 55-52 edge. Randolph and Sergio Llull each struck from downtown to restore a 57-60 Real lead after 30 minutes.

Campazzo scored in penetration early in the fourth quarter and Llull added a layup, but LeDay kept Zalgiris within 62-64 with over 7 minutes left. Jankunas hit a jumper, Randolph and LeDay exchanged three-pointers and a fastbreak layup by Grigonis gave Zalgiris the lead, 69-67. Walkup hit a jumper and got help from Grigonis and LeDay to make it 77-71. Ulanovas buried a critical three-pointer and soon added free throws to seal the outcome, 82-73, already in the final minute.