Fight till the end: Zalgiris rallies past Virtus 12
In a thriller that came down to the final shot, Zalgiris Kaunas rounded out a perfect night by beating Virtus Segafredo Bologna on the day in which club legend Paulius Jankunas saw his jersey retired in a halftime ceremony.
Zalgiris edged Virtus 68-65 in front of a 11 000 fans at Zalgirio Arena. Both teams now have 1-2 records in the regular season standings.
Ignas Brazdeikis led the winners with 14 points and Rolands Smits added 13 for Zalgiris. Kyle Weems paced Virtus with 15 points. The visitors led 60-65 with over 2 minutes left, but Brazdeikis scored 6 points in an 8-0 final run that allowed Zalgiris to win the game.
Jordan Mickey found easy points early and then Daniel Hackett and Semi Ojedeye each made a corner triple to give Virtus its first double-digit lead, 9-19. Weems singlehandedly kept the visitors in control, 19-29, early in the second quarter. Brazdeikis and Edgaras Ulanovas brought Zalgiris within 31-38 at halftime.
Tyler Cavanaugh took over after the break and then Smits followed a jump hook with a put-back slam to give Zalgiris its first lead, 42-41. Virtus regained a 52-53 lead after 30 minutes and Lundberg boosted the visitors’ lead to 60-65 with over 2 minutes left. Brazdeikis scored in penetration and followed Keenan Evans’s floater with a jumper that put Zalgiris in charge, 66-65, with 13.0 seconds remaining. Virtus kept struggling on offense and Brazdeikis rounded out the win from the foul line.
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