Zalgiris Kaunas tied a club record for its largest margin of victory in a 37-point blowout of ASVEL Villeurbanne on Thursday night at Zalgirio Arena. The Lithuanian giants were never in trouble, building a double-digit lead after one quarter and growing it to 96-59 in the EuroLeague Round 8 game.
All 11 players in uniform scored for Zalgiris, which was led by Sylvain Francisco with 15 points and 7 assists and Moses Wright with 14 points on perfect shooting and 7 rebounds. Teenager Kajus Mikalauskas added 5 points in his EuroLeague debut as Zalgiris improved to 6-2 on the season.
Glynn Watson scored 14 to lead ASVEL, which lost star guard Nando De Colo to a leg injury in the second quarter. ASVEL’s record slipped to 2-6.
After close first 5 minutes, Zalgiris received a spark from Maodo Lo’s two drives to the basket and a good stretch by Mikalauskas, who made a three-pointer, a steal and a pass to the dunking Wright. The home team led 26-15 at the end of the first quarter.
Wright added 8 more points in the second period, Francisco was cutting the defense with his sharp drives, and Zalgiris was in front 48-35 at halftime.
Kaunas team never looked back after the break, as it led 73-44 after 30 minutes, and sealed the win with 37-point margin, 96-59.
