Zalgiris erases 18-point deficit, but loses in overtime against Anadolu Efes 39
Zalgiris Kaunas made it to overtime in Round 7 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season, but eventually lost 82-86 to Anadolu Efes Istanbul on the road.
The game started with the guests getting into a 14-6 lead, but Anadolu Efes has cut it to 14-13 at the end of first quarter.
Zalgiris was struggling offensively in the second period, and trailed 26-38 at halftime.
Anadolu Efes connected on two triples early in the third quarter, and raised the lead to 18 points, 26-44. Zalgiris didn’t give up, as Rolands Smits and Tomas Dimsa combined for 11 points to cut it down to 46-51.
Kaunas team got in front 54-53, but quickly was behind again (54-62) at the beginning of the the fourth quarter. Then Keenan Evans took the game into his hands scoring 15 points, and finally bringing his team to overtime.
Smits connected from downtown for an early lead in overtime, but Anadolu Efes closed it with three-points of their own to seal the win.
Will Clyburn led the way for Efes with 20 points while Darius Thompson scored 17 points with 5 assists. Derek Willis also collected a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds and Shane Larkin had 14 points, including the layup to decide the game with 9.3 seconds left.
This victor improves the Turkish side’s record this season to 3-4 and snapped a two-game losing streak.
Zalgiris sees its losing skid extend to three games for a 3-4 mark as well. Evans was the leading scorer for the guests with 20 points. Smits had 16 points, Dimsa scored 15 points and Kevarrius Hayes chipped in 13 points.
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