By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Zalgiris Kaunas was trailing by 20 in the first half, but when the final buzzer sounded, the pride of Lithuania got the 83-81 win by tooth and claw.
It was ugly, with Zalgiris making just seven out of 25 three-pointers, Ignas Brazdeikis scoring 16 points, and Sylvain Francisco with 15 points, six rebounds, eight assists, and the winning shot, making things happen.
“I’m a confident guy,” Francisco said. “If I shoot the ball, I know I’m going to make it. For me, it doesn’t matter. I might miss five shots in the row, but the last and most important shots… I’m going to make them.”
TJ Shorts with 21 points was great but lost two crucial free throws in the end, while Mikael Jantunen and Nadir Hifi had 17 points which were not enough.
Zalgiris, with a 14-15 record, can still hope to make the postseason, while Paris dropped to 16-13.
“They played harder. Within the borderline of the foul,” Paris coach Tiago Splitter said. “We didn’t have the same energy that they did.”
A game to remember
Paris built an eight-point lead at the end of the first period (22-14), with Zalgiris scoring just one three-pointer in their first five attempts.
After two more missed threes, a failed attempt for a two-pointer, and a turnover, while the guests scored nine unanswered points, Paris had a 17-point advantage (31-14) to start the second quarter.
The lead ballooned to 20 points (45-25), and the halftime score was 47-31, with Zalgiris making two threes in 14 attempts.
And then everything changed…
Sylvain Fransisco opened the second half with five straight points, the shots started falling, and Zalgiris had a 15-0 run to make it a one-point game (47-46). Nadir Hifi made a three and gave Paris a breather (50-46), and at the end of the third period, the guests were still leading by three (61-58).
Zalgiris woke up, had the momentum, and after an 11-0 run, took a 10-point lead (75-65) with six minutes left. Paris reacted and made it a five-point game (77-72) after a three by Hifi. TJ Shorts had the chance to get the lead down to three, but newcomer Isaiah Wong blocked him and then scored on the other side (79-72).
Still, Paris kept pushing, and with 2.24 seconds left, Shorts made it a three-point game (79-76). Wong this time missed, and Mikael Jantunen, with a three, tied the score at 79 entering the last minute.
Arnas Butkevicius gave the lead back to Zalgiris (81-79), and Laurynas Birutis, with 39 seconds on the clock, committed an unsportmanlike foul to Shorts.
With the fans shouting like crazy, Shorts missed both free throws and then also missed a contested layup.
Dovydas Giebraitis missed, and Shorts was fouled again with nine seconds left. This time, he made the free throws to tie the score at 81.
Francisco scored the go-ahead basket for Zalgiris (83-81), and Paris had 2.5 seconds and a timeout to save the day. Hifi had a last shot, but he missed.
“I feel proud of my players,” Zalgiris coach Andrea Trinchieri said. “We played a great second half. We had double the energy. We played with heart and won an incredible game. Down 20, we climbing out of that hole. Doing the little things. And when we start doing the little things, we start to do the big things. Making shots, moving the ball.”
Photo credit: EuroLeague