Zalgiris lets a win go in Malaga 0
Having led for most of the game, Zalgiris collapsed when it mattered most and suffered a second straight defeat in Euroleague, losing 78-85 (19-22, 20-8, 13-19, 15-18, 11-18) on the road against Unicaja in Malaga on Tuesday.
After a back-and-forth first quarter, the visitors from Lithuania had opened a game-high 11-point gap at 39-28 in the second period, but Malaga fought back and erased the deficit with a 12-0 run.
With one and a half minutes to go in regulation, Marko Popovic hit a dagger three that gave Zalgiris a three-point advantage at 66-63. However, Unicaja managed to tie the game at 67-67 and sent it to overtime.
Popovic started the overtime with two successful free-throws, but the hosts answered with a 9-0 run, which opened a 76-69 gap and decided the outcome of the game.
Joel Freeland led Unicaja with 21 points and 12 rebounds, the Latvian playmaker Kristaps Valters scored 20 and dished out seven assists, while Tremmell Darden finished the game with 10 points.
The athletic swingman Sonny Weems had a team-high 21 points for Zalgiris and grabbed eight boards, but finished the game with five turnovers. Marko Popovic made all eight shots from the free-throw line to collect 18 points to go with six rebounds, while Tadas Klimavicius finished the game with 8 points and six rebounds. Ty Lawson collected seven points and grabbed nine boards.
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