Zalgiris Kaunas saw a 16-point lead slip away and fell to EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 78-89 at home in the EuroLeague Round 5 on Thursday. With this result, Zalgiris dropped to 3-2 in the standings, while Milan improved to 2-3, snapping their three-game losing streak.
Quinn Ellis, Giampaolo Ricci, Shavon Shields and Devin Booker led the winners with 15 points apiece. Marko Guduric added 14 while Leandro Bolmaro had 10 for Milan, which fired in 12-of-21 three-point shots.
Arnas Butkevicius paced Zalgiris with 20 points, all of which came in the first half on 6-of-7 three-pointers. Moses Wright and Nigel Williams-Goss each added 15 points while Azuolas Tubelis had 14 for the hosts.
Zalgiris started strong with Williams-Goss scoring the first 4 points. Butkevicius hit two three-pointers, including one at the buzzer after a steal, helping Zalgiris take a 21-13 lead after the opening period.
Butkevicius continued his run with more threes and a powerful dunk, pushing Zalgiris ahead 31-15. Despite Milan’s run that briefly gave them the lead, two dunks from Wright restored Zalgiris’ narrow advantage, 42-39, at halftime.
Sylvain Francisco combined for early points as Zalgiris went up 54-49. However, Milan responded quickly to grab the lead, and despite Francisco’s baskets, Zalgiris trailed 61-63 after three quarters.
Wright’s plays briefly narrowed the gap, but Milan remained accurate from three-point range, pulling ahead for good. Williams-Goss and Tubelis tried to rally Zalgiris, but Milan held on, leaving the final score at 78-89.