Zalgiris Kaunas secured a EuroLeague playoff berth with a feisty home win over Paris Basketball in the final round of the regular season at Zalgirio Arena.
Lithuanian champions finished on a 23-15 record as Moses Wright racked up 16 points and 18 rebounds to amass a PIR of 43, while Sylvain Francisco added 21 points and 5 assists in a fervent atmosphere.
Devoid of any pressure as it had earlier been eliminated, Paris made a bright start and knocked down 6 of its opening 7 shots from deep to lead 26-28 after the first quarter.
Zalgiris beefed up its defense and surged ahead 53-45 at halftime and 68-61 ahead of the final 10 minutes. Francisco stepped up in crunch time to put the outcome beyond doubt and spark wild celebrations in the Zalgirio Arena.
Maodo Lo chipped in with 21 points for Zalgiris and 17 of them came in a rampant first half while Justin Robinson paced Paris on 17 points, shooting 5-of-8 from downtown. Lamar Stevens netted 16 for the visitors and Nadir Hifi added 14 bit endured a torrid evening as he shot a mere 5-of-17 from the floor.
