By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Zalgiris Kaunas outlasted Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and prevailed over with a 76-70 victory, in Round 19 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague to improve to a 6-13 record in the standings. It was a special evening for Paulius Jankunas as well, who became the All-Time Leader in rebounds in the competition’s history with a total of 1.783!
Lukas Lekavicius posted a team-high performance with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists in nearly 28 minutes on the court. “It was a great win for us. I think the biggest key was that we responded to their physicality. They are a very physical team, especially in this gym, so we did a very good job”, he mentioned.
Zach LeDay followed also in double digits with 10 points, five rebounds.
On the other end of the court, Lorenzo Brown was the only player for the Serbian team to end the game in double figures, adding 14 points.
Zalgiris grabs third road win of the season at Zvezda’s streak expense
After a fairly balanced half (the two teams went to the lockers at a 38-38 tie), the Lithuanian side accelerated in the fourth period put an end to Zvezda’s four-win streak and grab their third road victory of the season. For the first time in the game, the visitors started pulling away with a nine-point lead (64-55, 34′) and managed to stay in control despite the hosts’ efforts to trim the deficit.
Brown made it a six-point game again with two minutes remaining and tried to keep the hosts in track, though Thomas Walkup (8 points) and Edgaras Ulanovas (7 points) finished off the job for Zalgiris.
Zalgiris will hope to turn this victory into a streak when they take over Panathinaikos on Friday, while Zvezda will try to bounce back against ALBA Berlin and remain on the chase for a playoffs spot (currently at a 9-10 record).
Photo: EuroLeague