Zalgiris Kaunas (11-12) lost 76-89 (25-17, 26-17, 19-26, 6-29) to Panathinaikos Athens (14-9) on the road in the EuroLeague Round 23 game.
Kendrick Nunn led the scoring with 26 points, while Wenyen Gabriel excelled with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Kostas Sloukas added 16 points, and Juancho Hernangomez scored 14.
Lonnie Walker IV scored 19 for Zalgiris, with Deividas Sirvydis adding 15.
Arnas Butkevicius opened the scoring from deep, before Hernangomez responded from close range. Brady Manek, Jerian Grant and Walker IV kept the scoreboard moving, and Laurynas Birutis netted two in a row to push Zalgiris ahead, 11-6. Walker’s three-point play was answered by Ioannis Papapetrou and Grant as the scoring slowed, and Papapetrou struck again for his team’s first lead, 14-15. But Dovydas Giedraitis, two scores from Sirvydis and Matt Mitchell’s layup-and-one pushed Zalgiris back in front, 25-17, at the end of the first.
Nunn’s layup was answered by Bryant Dunston’s putback slam to start the second, before Cedi Osman and Nunn gradually pulled the host closer, 32-26. Birutis, Giedraitis and Walker gave Zalgiris a quickfire 0-6 run for a 38-26 lead. Nunn finally made the home team’s first triple, but Walker hit back with a driving bucket before Dunston dunked and Sirvydis blasted 7 points in a row to make it 49-29 after a 11-0 run. Sloukas scored 5 fast points to stop the bleeding, and it was 51-34 at the interval.
Gabriel and Grant gave Panathinaikos a fast start to the second half, but Francisco’s triple reasserted Zalgiris. Hernangomez, Butkevicius and Nunn all struck from deep to make it 57-44. Gabriel and Nunn pulled the host within single digits, 58-50, but Walker’s threeball relieved the pressure. Gabriel netted another inside bucket, before home team coach Ergin Ataman was ejected for his second technical foul. Walker again struck from deep and Sirvydis added a layup, making it 70-60 after three quarters despite Nunn’s buzzer-beating triple.
Osman’s triple and Nunn’s consecutive baskets narrowed the gap to 70-67 to start the final period. Hernangomez made it a 1-point game, and Gabriel’s layup forced a lead change. Hernangomez’s triple and Gabriel’s layup completed a 21-0 run, making it 70-80. Ulanovas scored Zalgiris’ first points for 6 minutes from the line, but Sloukas netted consecutive baskets for a double-digit lead, 72-83. The unstoppable Gabriel’s layup underlined the host’s dominance, sealing the outcome long before the final buzzer as Zalgiris failed to score a single field goal in the final quarter.
