Zalgiris Kaunas defeated Galatasaray Istanbul 77-66 (11-16, 25-12, 18-19, 23-19) in the preseason camp in Turkey.
Nigel Williams-Goss scored the first points, but then Galatasaray’s players were the only ones to score for 5 minutes, 2-8. Dustin Sleva scored from under the basket, then assisted Mantas Rubstavicius for a three-pointer, 7-10. Rubstavicius also scored on a fast break, and Arnas Butkevicius added a layup, 11-16.
The second quarter opened with 7 consecutive points from Sleva, tying the score at 18-18. Williams-Goss stole the ball and left it for Wright to dunk, Ignas Brazdeikis hit a three-pointer, and Sleva put Zalgiris ahead 25-21. Wright broke through the opponents’ defense, but then made only 1 of 4 free throws, 28-25. Williams-Goss was flawless from the free throw line, Dominykas Daubaris made the dunk, and Rubstavicius ended the second quarter with 4 points in a row, 36-28.
Edgaras Ulanovas made a free throw and then shot a three-pointer, Brazdeikis passed the ball for a powerful dunk by Wright and scored 4 points himself, 46-37. Nedas Raupelis scored with a foul, Rubstavicius hit a three-pointer (52-41), but at the end of the third quarter, the opponents reduced the gap, 54-47.
Kajus Mikalauskas was accurate from long range and later assisted Butkevicius, 59-47. After a timeout, Galatasaray responded with a run of their own (59-56), which was interrupted by Brazdeikis, who made free throws and assisted Wright’s two-pointer with a foul, 64-56. Butkevicius collected 3 points, Dovydas Buika added 4, and the game ended with two three-pointers by Rubstavicius, 77-66.
Rubstavicius was perfect on all 4 tries from beyond the arc and tallied 18 points. Sleva added 11 points and 7 rebounds, while Wright collected 10 points and 8 rebounds.
