Top-of-the-table Zalgiris rocks Anadolu Efes 26

Zalgiris Kaunas remained atop the EuroLeague standings by demolishing the team with the best record from last season, Anadolu Efes Istanbul, 89-73 on Thursday evening in its home opener at Zalgirio Arena. The Lithuanian champs led from tip to buzzer in improving to 4-0 on the season while dropping struggling Efes to 1-3.

Nigel Hayes led five Zalgiris scorers in double figures with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Marius Grigonis and Lukas Lekavicius scored 12 points apiece, Joffrey Lauvergne posted 10 points and 8 rebounds and Arturas Milaknis also scored 10 for the victors.

Bryant Dunston came up big with 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting, 4 assists and 2 blocks to lead Efes, Krunoslav Simon compiled 16 points and 6 assists and Rodrigue Beaubois added 12 in defeat.

The fans had plenty to cheer about early as Hayes and Grigonis knocked down three-pointers for a 6-2 start. Hayes remained hot with a jumper and another triple to make it 13-5 midway through the first quarter. Tibor Pleiss provided most of the Efes resistance, but Zalgiris remained in control as both teams started to turn to their second units. Lekavicius fed Rokas Jokubaitis for a fastbreak layup on the buzzer to make it 25-16 after 10 minutes.

The Efes attack found its rhythm in the first few minutes of the second quarter, but Zalgiris matched it basket for basket. Things changed when Adrien Moerman drilled back-to-back three-pointers to bring Efes within 32-31. Dunston’s second block of the night ignited a fastbreak that saw Zalgiris tie it at 35-35 on a layup by Simon. Lauvergne scored twice as the hosts regained the lead and went into halftime up 41-35.

Zalgiris opened the second half with a bang as Lauvergne threw-down an alley-oop slam and Hayes converted on his third three of the night for a double-digit lead. Efes found its footing and the teams started to trade baskets in what became a high-scoring quarter. Dunston drew the visitors within 57-53 only for Steve Vasturia to respond with a three-pointer-plus-foul. Lekavicius’s floater in transition pushed the margin back to 10 and prompted an Efes timeout. A layup by Vasturia made it 66-55 through three quarters.

Zalgiris did not let up with the lead swelling as Lekavicius set up Martinas Geben for a slam and then nailed a three. Milaknis’ layup stretched the margin to 75-58. Geben put the difference into the 20s with a layup with 4 minutes remaining. The lead peaked at 87-65 on a Grigonis triple with 3 minutes remaining as Zalgiris wrapped up a convincing victory.

Comments

  1. Darius

    kažkas pagaliau pakrutino užpakalį ir parašė straipsnį apie būsimas rungtynes. Taip ir toliau !

  2. Linas

    Kazin Birkanas Batukas Efese dar zaidzia?

  3. Zalgiris

    Na namie Turim laimeti uzsidegimu norint laimeti ReIkes geros gynybos Grigonio Walkupo Milaknio tritaskiu Jokubaicio vel

  4. taigi

    laukiam didžiojo krepšinio eksperto, įžvalgų profesoriaus DARIAUS rungtynių analizės. O tikrus Žalgirio fanus su pergale. Žalias traukinys nesustabdomas.

  5. Šiaip

    Tai Dariau tą straipsnį prieš rungtynes parašė LRT. Iki šio sezono tikrai prieš kiekvienas rungtynes būdavo straipsnis. O krepšinis šiandien buvo kosminis! Kas nematė butinai pasižiūrėkit įrašą

  6. Darius

    Bravo treneriams, komandai ir sirgaliams. 10 balų
    O tam durneliui anksčiau manęs parašiusiam, man ant tavęs giliai nusišikt, gali stenėti, nuotaikos nesugadinsi

  7. Dariau

    Tu kažkada prisišnekėsi, kai atsisėsi į invalidų kaleskę. Asilu gimęs, tokiu ir dvėsi, urode.

  8. 709

    Visus visus su pergale!!! Smagu grizti is arenos po tokiu rungtyniu.

  9. Fantastiskas vakaras

    Super Atmosfera nuo to ir Zaidejai uzsivede Nigel Hayes ?

  10. Ka Ekspertai

    Ka kalbejo Vasara ekspertai Bukmekeriai

  11. Milaknis

    Visi galvojo kad sugrius kortu namelis bet matome atvirkstini varianta

  12. Zalgiris

    As Si sezona is Namu ziuresiu greiciausiai internetu neperku

  13. Zalgiris

    Uzgesino Efes Zalgiris fantastinis Pataikymas 2 kelini aisku netaip viskas gerai sekesi

  14. Faktas

    Faktas, kad darius arenoje nebuvo. Bailys juk. Paprasčiau bezdėti ant sofos su batonu rankoje.

  15. Grigonis

    Marius Grigonis apie zalgirio pergales nesinori sakyti bet Saras vis dar su mumis

  16. Faktas2

    ??geras

  17. Fan from Germany

    Who knows, why our team played with white jerseys ???? Best regards.

  18. Zalgiriui

    kodel Mareko negali isleist kaip viskas aisku jau yra? Vaikiui tai butu paskatinimas….

  19. Fantastiska

    Siurpuliukai zalgirio zaideju energyja trysko per krastus Zinome kad KaunieciaI puikiai pasiruose fiziskai bet cia savaji efakta neabejotinai dave ir pirmosios namu runktynes prie pagaliau sugrizusiu fanu??

  20. heyhey

    sveikinimai komandos sirgaliams, puiki atmosfera , rungtynes pavyko , su tokiu pataikymu galim bet ka nugaleti . Del labaigeros gynybos turiu savo nuomone , kuri siek tiek skiriasi nuo Šilerio vertinimo , bet tiek to nesiruošiu vertinti laimėtoju. Linkiu kad ir toliau taip sektusi ir komanda turetu palaikyma namuose iš sirgaliu .

  21. Hyper

    Labai smagu, kad žaidimas vis gerėja ir jau šiuo metu yra puikus. Kaip sakė Atamanas – I think that in the beginning of the season, Zalgiris is the best team that I saw in the first four games… Reikia pagirti Martin Schiller, mažai kalba, bet daug nuveikia…

  22. To Fan from Germany

    Our team played with white jerseys as the opponents wore blue ones. I guess it’s because of the contrast to make it easier to distinguish team players. Each team has two sets of jerseys.

  23. Aha

    O slowmo video si sezona nebus? Budavo tikras desertas kita diena po pergaliu.

  24. Fan from Germany

    OK OK, I know it, but Efes also has 2 sets of jerseys, (bright und dark) Last year Zalgiris played at home in green and Efes in white.