Zalgiris loses to Panathinaikos in the final seconds 39
Zalgiris Kaunas (3-5) started the EuroLeague double week with a defeat in Greece. Kazys Maksvytis’ team lost 71-73 (15-13, 24-23, 13-17, 19-20) to Panathinaikos Athens (4-4) on the road.
Keenan Evans opened the game with a drive to the basket, Kevarrius Hayes scored four points and Rolands Smits hit a three-pointer to make it 9-9. Arnas Butkevicius scored on free throws, Tomas Dimsa added two more points, and Evans went coast-to-coast to end first quarter, 15-13.
Laurynas Birutis scored seven points, Edgaras Ulanovas opened his tally and Arnas Butkevicius added another free throw, 25-20. Birutis scored two more points, Butkevicius made a three-pointer, Naz Mitrou-Longas flashed with two long-range shots in a row, and Dimsa made a long-range shot at the end of the first half, 39-36.
Butkevicius successfully finished two consecutive possessions right after the break, Brady Manek made a three-pointer from the corner, and Hayes scored a tough basket, 48-47. Hayes made his free throws, Dimsa corrected his own miss, but Zalgiris was already a point behind, 52-53.
During the six minutes of the decisive quarter, only Smits scored points for Zalgiris, connecting on three three-pointers, making a shot from under the basket and adding a technical free throw, 64-64. Dimsa and Evans made free throws, and Manek evened the score with a three-pointer with almost 15 seconds to play, 71-71. Kostas Sloukas and Marius Grigonis scored on free throws, and Zalgiris had to concede the loss after not scoring any points, 71-73.
Dinos Mitoglou led Panathinaikos with 19 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting, along with 6 rebounds. Sloukas scored 16 points, Jerian Grant had 10 points and 5 assists, and Mathias Lessort scored 13 but committed 7 turnovers.
Zalgiris was paced by 15 points from Smits, with 12 of those coming in the fourth quarter. Butkevicius posted 10 points and 8 rebounds, but the visitors paid the price for committing 23 turnovers.
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