By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
In front of the packed Zalgirio Arena, Zalgiris Kaunas trailed for the most of the match against Crvena zvezda, but shined when mattered most, turned the score around in the final period with impressive shooting and grabbed a second win of the season with a 79-74 final score.
Rolands Smits led the winning side with 18 points and six rebounds, while Edgaras Ulanovas added 15 points with six boards and four assist. Arnas Butkevicius followed them with 12 points and five boards, even tough he had just a point before the final 10 minutes. Brady Manek was in the same situation, but managed to add eight points in the crucial period of the game.
“Very happy about the win, it was our first home game in EuroLeague. We were struggling in the first half on the defensive end a little bit, they were scoring easy points. We knew we need to keep fighting in the second half, and come back with the new energy and play as a team“, Zalgiris‘ top scorer Smits said after the second win of the season in EuroLeague.
For Crvena Zvezda, Luka Mitrović was on the verge of a double-double with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Milos Teodosic had a good all-around game with 15 points, four assist and four rebounds. Shabazz Napier had nine points, but with 1/10 from the field.
“Congratulations to the fans, it’s great to play in such an arena. We won the match, but I am not satisfied with the game due to instability, control,” Zalgiris’ coach Kazys Maksvytis said about the match. “I think we played poorly in the third quarter, but we stayed in the game thanks to our effort and defense. In the end, we found the right targets, the right players and won the game.”
Zalgiris opened the match with a 13-4 run. They controlled the rebounds and managed to find good solutions on the offensive end, while the Belgrade team struggled. Everything changed when Milos Teodosic took the court; the guests started gaining control and even managed to grab the 21-19 lead before the first break.
Crvena Zvezda stayed in front through the second and third quarters, with Mitrovic impressing under the rims, but the hosts never backed down. After Napier hit his first field goal in the opening moments of the final period, the Serbian side had a 59-50 point lead and looked confidently in control. However, then Zalgiris went all in – and it worked. Shots finally started falling in, and with a 13-0 run, the Kaunas team turned the score around. Dusko Ivanovic’s side looked stunned, tried to recover in the final moments, but couldn’t catch up. Zalgiris, carried by the packed Arena, stayed in front to win the game.
“Congratulations to Zalgiris. They started and finished with great intensity, they played good. We started soft, and finished almost how we started the game. We had a big problem defending Ulanovas in the low post, they moved the ball excelent, made two-three shots for three points and took advantage,” Crvena Zvezda’s coach Dusko Ivanovic said at the press conference after the game.