Zalgiris Kaunas (6-2) had no problem in the Betsafe-LKL game. Andrea Trinchieri’s team defeated Neptunas Klaipeda (5-3) by 97-70 (28-19, 25-19, 23-12, 21-20) on the road.
The guests shared the ball well in the first minutes of the game, with Lonnie Walker IV, Brady Manek and Arnas Butkevicius converting three-pointers after assists, 9-8. Dovydas Giedraitis finished a fastbreak after a steal by Arnas Butkevicius, who then made a layup and assisted Brady Manek, and Laurynas Birutis scored four points to make it 19-11. Butkevicius continued his great performance, hitting a three-pointer and converting the offensive rebound into a two-pointer with a foul (25-14), and Birutis finished the first quarter with 3 points, 28-19.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Sylvain Francisco found Walker IV, who made a free three-pointer from the corner, 33-22. Matt Mitchell made a long shot from the corner, Walker IV scored 5 points and Manek added a three-pointer from the top of the key, 44-29. Lukas Lekavicius made a layup with his right hand, Ignas Brazdeikis scored 4 points, Giedraitis and Mitchell sank free throws to increase the margin to 22 points (53-31), but at the end of the quarter Neptunas got a bit closer, 53-38.
Francisco made 3 free throws and assisted Giedraitis’ long shot, Deividas Sirvydis finished a fast break, Butkevicius made 2 free throws, and Lekavicius made a long-range two-pointer, 65-43. Francisco made a free throw, Walker IV and Manek scored 5 points each, 76-50.
Manek scored after an offensive rebound, Brazdeikis hit a three-pointer, Mitchell broke through the defense and Sirvydis hit a three-pointer from the corner, 87-56. Francisco scored 5 points in a row, Walker IV made a layup, and Edgaras Ulanovas became the last Zalgiris player to score points, 97-60.
Walker IV scored 19 points in his Betsafe-LKL debut. Manek added 15 points, while Butkevicius finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.
