Zalgiris Kaunas (6-2) erased a double-digit deficit, but did not win the EuroLeague Round 8 game. Andrea Trinchieri’s team lost 74-77 (7-19, 21-19, 19-20, 27-19) to Bayern Munich (6-2) on the road.

Sylvain Francisco poured in 16 of his 20 points in the final 8 minutes but they were not enough and Edgaras Ulanovas picked up 15 points in the loss. Zalgiris’ new addition from the NBA, Lonnie Walker IV, was scoreless with 8 missed shots and 2 turnovers in 13 minutes.

Bayern went to Devin Booker for the first two scores for a 0-4 lead. At the other end, Walker started the game but missed his first three shots and was subbed out. His replacement Deividas Sirvydis finally got Zalgiris on the board with a three-pointer after more than 4 minutes. Three-pointers from Andreas Obst, Shabazz Napier and Carsen Edwards left Bayern ahead 5-16 with less than 2 minutes to go as Zalgiris’ offense struggled with absolutely no rhythm. Edwards added another triple and Bayern led 6-19. In the first 10 minutes, Zalgiris made just 2 of 14 shots (1 of 11 three-point attempts) and trailed 7-19.

Teenager Ivan Kharchenkov started the scoring for Bayern in the second quarter and increased the lead to 14 points. Zalgiris finally started to get some scores with Edgaras Ulanovas and Dovydas Giedraitis both picking up 5 points and getting the deficit to 17-26. A Sirvydis three-pointer had Zalgiris within 8 points only to see Bayern rush away for the next 6 points and the cushion was 22-36. Zalgiris managed a little push at the end of the first half to trail 28-38 at the break.

Laurynas Birutis put in the first basket of the second half to once again get the margin to 8 points. Bayern needed nearly 2 minutes to score but Edwards tallied 5 more points and the home side led 32-452. Bayern dominated the offensive glass and got shot after shot after shot. Obst drained another long ball and Bayern was up 34-50. Zalgiris tried to fight back with 2 triples from Lukas Lekavicius but the visitors were still down 47-58 after 30 minutes.

An Obst triple gave Bayern the lead 47-61 to start the fourth quarter. Bayern failed to score for the next 3 minutes and Zalgiris scored the next 7. Francisco knocked down a triple and Ulanovas converted a three-point play and the lead dwindled to 62-66 with under 4 minutes to go. Zalgiris just kept charging back with another Francisco three-pointer and it was 67-68 after a free throw each from Matthew Mitchell and Bryant Dunston. Nick Weiler-Babb and Edwards came up big for Bayern with layups to lead 68-72 with 68 seconds to go. Edwards finished the game with a breakaway layup and 2 free throws in the final 30 seconds - even though Francisco hit 2 more three-pointers in the last 26 seconds. Brady Manek had a chance to force overtime but his three-point attempt at the buzzer was off-target.