By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Zalgiris Kaunas beat already eliminated Anadolu Efes 86 – 70 on the road to improve their EuroLeague record to 14 – 9 and not only establish themselves as one of the playoff teams but also begin to dream about finishing at the Top 4.
There’s still a long road ahead for that of course with seven games remaining for the completion of the regular season. Still, it is a possibility for the Lithuanian team since the victory of Khimki Moscow over Panathinaikos created a three-way tie among them at the fourth spot.
Meanwhile, Efes fell to the 16th place and a 4 – 13 record after this loss. Coach Ergin Ataman has said many times that it isn’t easy to find a motivation to play given the fact that his team is far from playoff contention and that was the case tonight, few days after his team won the Turkish Cup.
Efes struggled to keep up with the offense with Zalgiris, following the mid of the second quarter. With the score 27 – 26, the guests made a 0 – 9 run and remained ahead for the remainder of the match.
The Turkish team never recovered while Zalgiris established a double-digit lead in the third quarter to safely reach victory in the end.
Lots of players contributed from Zalgiris but Aaron White stood out with 15 points (6/6 from the field) and 4 rebounds for 22 in PIR. Brandon Davies scored 12 and grabbed 4 boards while Vasilije Micic had 11 points plus 6 assists. Kevin Pangos also dished out 6 dimes and also scored 10 points.
Errick McCollum scored a team-high 14 for Efes. Toney Douglas added 13 points and 5 assists.