Zalgiris demolishes Anadolu Efes at home 14
Zalgiris Kaunas remains perfect at home in the Andrea Trinchieri era after beating Anadolu Efes Istanbul 96-70 (34-14, 24-23, 18-22, 20-11) in EuroLeague Round 24.
After losing by 4 points at Efes back in Round 7, Wednesday night’s 26-point victory gave Zalgiris the head-to-head advantage. Both teams now share a 9-15 record.
Laurynas Birutis led the way for Zalgiris with a team-high 18 points, while Rolands Smits, Brady Manek and Edgaras Ulanovas had 13 points apiece. Tomas Dimsa had 11 points and 7 assists, too.
Efes’s Will Clyburn was the game’s leading scorer with 19 points, with Darius Thompson joining him in double figures with 17.
There was no stopping Zalgiris in the early stages as the hosts netted 34 points in the first quarter, which is a club record for an opening period. Efes, meanwhile, scored just 14, meaning it trailed 34-14 after 10 minutes.
Zalgiris extended its lead to as many as 30 points in the second quarter, but Efes fought back and found itself down by 21 points, 58-37, at the half.
Despite Thompson leading an Efes charge in the third, the visitors could not cope with the likes of Birutis and Ulanovas, among others, as Zalgiris led 76-59 entering the fourth.
There was little sense of drama in the final period as Zalgiris was able to coast its way to a 96-70 win.
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