Baskonia hands a defeat to visiting Zalgiris 34
Baskonia Vitoria recorded its third consecutive win by downing Zalgiris Kaunas 84-64 at Fernando Buesa Arena on Thursday. Baskonia improved to 13-13 in the standings to draw even with Maccabi Tel Aviv for eighth place, while Zalgiris dropped to 15-11.
Jayson Granger paced the winners with 20 points, Vincent Poirier added 15, Matt Janning and Johannes Voigtmann each scored 12 and Luza Vildoza dished 10 assists in less than 15 minutes for Baskonia.
Kevin Pangos led Zalgiris with 12 points and Vasilije Micic added 11.
Poirier got Baskonia going with a three-point play and a layup. Janning soon struck from downtown for an 8-0 lead. Edgaras Ulanovas and Pangos each hit one from beyond the arc and got help from Brandon Davies to bring Zalgiris within 12-8. Janis Timma took over with a four-point play, but a triple by Pangos and a layup by Micic got Zalgiris within 16-13. Micic kept pushing Zalgiris, but Voigtmann joined the three-point shootout, Granger sank back-to-back shots from beyond the arc and a buzzer-beating jumper by Garino gave Baskonia a 27-19 lead after 10 minutes.
Garino took over with a driving layup that made it a double-digit game, 31-21, early in the second quarter. Micic scored down low and Arturas Milaknis added free throws, but Granger and Janning kept Baskonia comfortably ahead, 34-25. Paulius Jankunas and Axel Toupane scored around the basket, but Vildoza and Voigtmann combined for 8 quick points, which caused Zalgiris to call timeout at 42-29. Milaknis and Pangos brought Zalgiris a bit closer, 43-33, at halftime.
Davies followed a put-back dunk with a layup in a 0-6 run that brought Zalgiris within 45-39 soon after the break. Granger rescued Baskonia with a triple-and-foul and Poirier added a layup, but Pangos and Antanas Kavaliauskas kept Zalgiris in the picture at 51-43. Garino dunked and added a layup in a game-breaking 16-0 run in which Janning nailed back-to-back triples. An alley-oop layup by Ilimane Diop made it 67-43. A floater by Ulanovas fixed the score at 67-45 after 30 minutes.
Poirier stepped up with a floater and free throws early in the fourth quarter and Timma added a three-pointer for a 25-point Baskonia lead. A layup off a steal by Rodrigue Beaubois sealed the outcome at 78-51 with seven minutes left. Zalgiris kept fighting, but Baskonia cruised to the important win.
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