Zalgiris Kaunas (5-1) defeated Gargzdai (2-4) by 89-73 (24-16, 21-17, 16-20, 28-20) on the road in the Lithuanian Basketball League championship.
Youngster Kajus Mikalauskas started the game with 4 points, while Laurynas Birutis outplayed his opponent, 6-0. Arnas Butkevicius made an euro-step on a fast break, and Birutis added another 4 points, 12-6. Ignas Brazdeikis, Moses Wright, and Mantas Rubstavicius made two-pointers, 18-10. Azuolas Tubelis scored 4 points in a row, and Rubstavicius ended the first quarter with free throws, 24-16.
Brazdeikis scored 4 points, and Mikalauskas hit the first three-pointer of the game, 32-18. Tubelis finished under the basket, Edgaras Ulanovas found Rubstavicius both on a fast break and at the three-point line, 39-20. Gargzdai responded with an 11-2 run, during which Ulanovas made free throws for Zalgiris, 41-31. At the end of the second quarter, Dustin Sleva made a nice shot, and Birutis converted Deividas Sirvydis’ pass into points, 45-33.
Birutis dunked on the first possession of the third quarter, followed by mid-range shot by Sleva (49-36), but then Zalgiris went 5 minutes without scoring, and the difference narrowed to 49-42. Then Tubelis scored after a pass from Brazdeikis, and Ignas himself added another 5 points, 56-49. Gargzdai had closed the gap to 4 points, but Wright and Ulanovas closed the quarter with free throws, 61-53.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Ulanovas and Wright scored 3 points each, 67-55. Brazdeikis, Sirvydis, and Ulanovas maintained a 12-point lead, but the hosts attempted a final surge and closed the gap to 5 points, 75-70. Then Sylvain Francisco scored his 10th point in 3 minutes, also making an assist to Ulanovas, 85-70. Finally, Ulanovas and Wright ended the game with accurate two-point shots, 89-73.
Brazdeikis and Ulanovas led the balanced scoring with 13 points each. Wright had 11 points, while Birutis and Francisco finished the game with 10 points.
