Zalgiris Kaunas improved to 10-7 in the EuroLeague with a 109-68 demolition of visiting Partizan Belgrade, as the Serbian side dropped to 6-11 after a second successive defeat this week.
The home side made a bright start and powered by tough defense which forced a lot of contested shots from Partizan, Zalgiris thrived on aggressive half-court pressure and carved out a massive 28-15 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The hosts kept their feet on the gas in the second and romped away into a 53-30 halftime lead, with Partizan looking completely at sea as big man Moses Wright dominated the paint at both ends, racking up 12 points and 6 boards.
Relentless Zalgiris kept going at full throttle and led 82-47 ahead of the final 10 minutes, closing out the third quarter with a 7-0 run. There was no letting up from Zalgiris in the fourth quarter either, as the hosts opened up a staggering 97-57 advantage in the closing stages.
The home fans were in raptures as the Lithuanian giant closed out the game in style, registering a club-record number of points and its biggest-ever win in Europe’s premier club competition.
Sylvain Francisco paced Zalgiris on a game-high 22 points, while Wright racked up 17 and 6 boards. Ignas Brazdeikis chipped in with 15 points and Nigel Williams-Goss added 12 to underline a smooth team effort.
At the other end, big man Bruno Fernando stood out with 16 points and 4 boards for Partizan, while Duane Washington scored 17 points and Isaac Bonga netted 12.
