Janis Strelnieks leads Zalgiris over Lietkabelis 2
Zalgiris (10-1) fielded an 11-man roster against Lietkabelis Panevezys (7-5), as Lukas Lekavicius, Niels Giffey, Paulius Jankunas, Joffrey Lauvergne and Mantas Rubstavicius sat out of the game in Kaunas.
Despite all their absences, the Lithuanian champs managed to exit the contest unscathed, taking an easy victory by 84-70 (18-15, 19-16, 28-20, 19-19).
Janis Strelnieks was the undisputed man of the match, scoring 23 points on 8/10 field goals and 5/6 on three-point shots, along with one rebound, five assists and one steal. Edgaras Ulanovas, Regimantas Miniotas and Tyler Cavanaugh were also in double digits for the winning side.
For Lietkabelis, Panagiotis Kalaitzakis and Nikola Radicevic combined for 32 points but none of their teammates managed to lend a helping hand.
Strelnieks led the hosts in the beginning, scoring three daggers, with Regimantas Miniotas carrying the torch in the second quarter. The 25-year-old forward, Zalgiris’s latest addition, scored 7 points in his first 12 minutes of action, helping his team hold a slight edge at halftime (37-31).
Nikola Radicevic and Panagiotis Kalaitzakis were trying to keep Lietkabelis afloat, having reached double digits early on. The two accounted for more than half of the visitors’ points in that span.
Kalaitzakis hit a couple of free-throws, followed by a three-pointer, to push Lietkabielis close (48-42) but Zalgiris responded with an 8-0 run that catapulted them to an even bigger advantage (63-45). Edgaras Ulanovas was the main responsible, scoring seven points in less than three minutes.
Kalaitzakis brought Lietkabelis closer (70-58) with six minutes left. Nevertheless, Panevezys never constituted a real threat since Zalgiris kept on their scoring pace and arrived at their tenth domestic win of the season.
Zalgiris Kaunas: Janis Strelnieks 23 (8/10 FG, 5/6 3-PT SHOTS, 2/2 FT, 1 REB, 5 AST, 1 ST), Edgaras Ulanovas 15 (5/10 FG, 4/4 FT, 8 REB, 3 AST, 3 TO), Regimantas Miniotas 13 (5/6 FG, 2/2 FT, 8 REB, 2 AST, 4 TO), Tyler Cavanaugh 10 (4/10 FG, 7 REB), Zoran Dragic 8.
Lietkabelis: Panagiotis Kalaitzakis 19 (7/11 FG, 3/6 3-PT SHOTS, 2/3 FT, 2 REB, 1 AST, 2 TO, 3 ST), Nikola Radicevic 13 (6/11 FG, 2 AST), Gabrielius Maldunas 8, Dorde Dragic 8 (4 REB).
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