Zalgiris Kaunas (3-0) secured another victory in Lithuanian league. Tomas Masiulis’s team defeated Neptunas Klaipeda (1-1) by 84-71 (23-16, 20-17, 20-17, 21-21) on the road.
Zalgiris players shared the ball perfectly in the first minutes: after six assists, Laurynas Birutis scored 8 points, Dustin Sleva added 5 for 13-5 lead. After the timeout, Sylvain Francisco lobbed the ball to Moses Wright for a dunk (15-7), but then it took 4 minutes for Wright to score again, 17-13. At the end of the first quarter, Edgaras Ulanovas assisted Azuolas Tubelis and then scored 4 points himself, 23-16.
During the first 5 minutes of the second quarter, Francisco made the only accurate shot for Zalgiris, and the visitors briefly found themselves behind, 25-29. Tubelis tied the score with 4 points (29-29), and Francisco restored the lead with two three-pointers, 36-31. Francisco rewarded his opponents with two blocks and made two free throws himself, Ulanovas added a 2+1, and Nigel Williams-Goss closed the second quarter with free throws, 43-33.
Birutis and Ignas Brazdeikis broke through the opponents’ defense, Williams-Goss made a three-pointer, 51-37. Wright turned offensive rebound into a powerful dunk, Francisco’s pass was converted into a three-pointer by Maodo Lo, 56-44. Wright scored another 5 points, Ulanovas made his free throws, 63-50.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Tubelis dominated under the basket and scored 7 points, Ulanovas was accurate on three free throws, 73-57. After several unsuccessful possessions, Ulanovas and Tubelis scored 3 points each again, 79-69. Neptunas’ last attempts to change the course of the game were extinguished by another 5 points from Ulanovas, 84-71.
Ulanovas led Zalgiris with 20 points. Tubelis was big with 16 points, Birutis and Wrihght had 11 points each, while Francisco added 10 points and 9 assists.
