By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
In a meeting of teams clinging on a two-game winning streak, Zalgiris Kaunas was in control the entire 40 minutes and beat Panathinaikos OPAP, 96-83, Tuesday evening.
French center Joffrey Lauvergne proved to be unstoppable. A season-high 17 points paired with 12 rebounds shaped his solid effort in the rescheduled Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 18 game.
“It was our third victory in a row. In two days, we are playing in Berlin. So, we have a big chance to win four in a row, if we play this way,” he described the intentions of Zalgiris before visiting ALBA Berlin Thursday in Round 28 action, “Let’s do it.”
Edgaras Ulanovas banked in a team-high 22 points powered by 9/12 field goals. Arturas Milaknis threw in 16 more points and Tyler Cavanaugh had 15 points in the successful visit at OAKA Altion. Tai Webster (illness), Mantas Kalnietis (ankle), and Regimantas Miniotas were out for the team led by Slovenian tactician Jure Zdovc.
“We are last in the standings. Nobody wants to be last. Hopefully, this is going to be a huge boost for us to go even higher. So, it is important to have a good game on Thursday. It is a tough schedule,” said Ulanovas after matching his EuroLeague-high in points, “We need to play like this or even better.”
“These are the worst games when you have a quick 20-point lead and they chase you and chase you,” mentioned Zdovc, “Fortunately, we scored some three-pointers. That was the reason we kept that lead almost the whole game.”
The visitors outlasted Nemanja Nedovic to prevail in Athens, Greece. The Serbian star scored a game-high 23 points, including 16 in the third quarter all but singlehandedly trying to get his side back in the game but to no avail. Foul trouble limited his participation in the last ten minutes. The ten-point effort in the first quarter was a heavy burden for Panathinaikos to carry.
“Obviously, we had a bad first quarter. We tried to come back but Zalgiris was very ready, very good rhythm, and very good shots,” explained head coach Dimitris Priftis, “We made an effort in the second half but it was not enough.”
The Lithuanian outfit jumped to 5-19 with the second consecutive win on the road after losing the first 11 contests of the 2021-22 season away of Kaunas. In addition, the sixth win in a row across all competitions.
Panathinaikos dropped to 7-18. Okaro White (ankle) returned to action after missing the last couple of weeks but was limited to a 1:44 shift. Ioannis Papapetrou (nose), Stefan Jovic (thigh), and Lefteris Bochoridis (back) remained sidelined.
Photo Credit: EuroLeagueBasketball.net