Zalgiris Kaunas erased a 20-point second-quarter deficit with a dominant second half to defeat Paris Basketball 83-81 on Thursday night at Zalgirio Arena. The Lithuanian champs were down 16 at halftime before opening the third quarter with 10 straight points and finally taking their first lead through Bryant Dunston with the first basket of the fourth quarter.
TJ Shorts tied it for Paris late, but there was enough time left for Sylvain Francisco to win it with a jumper with 2.5 seconds remaining. The victory lifted Zalgiris's record to 14-15 on the season, which Paris slipped to 16-13.
Ignas Brazdeikis led all Zalgiris scorers with 16 points, Francisco finished with 15 points and 8 assists and Edgaras Ulanovas added 12 points. Shorts scored a game-high 21 for Paris and Nadir Hifi and Mikael Jantunen netted 17 apiece.
Zalgiris scored on its first two possessions to get the crowd going, but Paris soon regrouped to and reeled off 7 straight points. Brazdeikis heated up for the hosts as the teams started to trade baskets. Free throws by Hifi made it 9-11 before the TV timeout paused things. Maodo Lo carved through the Zalgiris defense for a three-point play and Bandja Sy buried a triple that silenced Zalgirio Arena. Deividas Sirvydis provided a spark, but a three by Hifi and a jumper by Shorts kept Paris rolling at 14-22 after 10 minutes.
The hosts could not find their range while Tyson Ward and Shorts extended the margin. A three by Ward completed a 0-11 run that made it 14-31. Alen Smailagic revived Zalgiris with a three-pointer, but to no avail. Brazdeikis scored twice only to see Paris match him each time. Shorts connected from deep and Jantunen converted a layup to take the lead to 20. Free throws by Dunston and Isaiah Wong made it 31-47 at the halftime break.
Francisco knocked down a long three for his first points of the game and followed that with a contested layup. The crowd roared with approval as Brazdeikis scored before another three by Francisco made it 10 straight Zalgiris points to open the second half. Paris coach Tiago Splitter called a timeout to slow things down. However, a pair of Arnas Butkevicius blocks triggered 5 more points as Laurynas Birutis got the host within 46-47 with a put-back slam. Hifi ended the Paris drought, but Zalgiris now had its confidence back. Paris managed to stay just ahead through Hifi and Daulton Hommes and it was 60-61 when the third quarter ended.
Dunston gave Zalgiris its first lead since the opening minutes with the first basket of the fourth quarter. The lead changed hands with each of the next four baskets before back-to-back threes by Sirvydis and Ulanovas made it 72-65. Francisco’s layup and – after a Paris timeout – free-throw completed an 11-0 run for a 10-point lead. After baskets by Jantunen and Shorts, Zalgiris head coach Andrea Trinchieri called a timeout. Hifi kept pushing the visitors, but Isaiah Wong came up big on both ends, denying Shorts and sinking a pull-up jumper, to keep Zalgiris in control. Free throws by Shorts and got Paris within 79-76 with 2 minutes remaining. Jantunen tie it with a three from the corner with 1:11 to play. Butkevicius powered Zalgiris back in front, byt Birutis was whistled for an unsportsmanlike foul on Shorts with 39.3 seconds left. Shorts missed both of the resulting free throws and a layup on the ensuing possession. He would get another chance and tie it from the line with 9.4 seconds left, but that left enough time for Francisco to win it with a jumper with 2.5 seconds remaining.
