Zalgiris suffocates Panathinaikos to end losing streak 18

Zalgiris Kaunas snapped a six-game losing streak by holding off Panathinaikos Athens 69-81 at OAKA on Friday night. The visitors took an early 8-17 lead behind triples by Marius Grigonis and Nigel Hayes and never trailed for the rest of the game. Even when the hosts managed to tie it 50-50, Zalgiris launched a 2-17 run bridging the last two quarters to put the game on ice and improved its record to 6-7.

Marius Grigonis paced the winners with 24 points, making 6 of 8 three-pointers. He was followed by Nigel Hayes with 14 points and Rokas Jokubaitis with 10, all of his in the last quarter.

Panathinaikos, who dropped to 4-8, had Nemanja Nedovic as its best scorer with 12 points. Georgios Papagiannis posted a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Shelvin Mack and Ioannis Papapetrou contributed 10 apiece for the losing side.

Joffrey Lauvergne got Zalgiris going with 6 points in a 4-8 opening run. Grigonis joined later to connect twice from downtown twice. Hayes added another long ball to raise the difference to 10-17 after 6 minutes. Konstantinos Mitoglou came to the rescue after a Panathinaikos timeout, but a three-pointer by Lukas Lekavicius, a layup by Grigonis and a buzzer-beating tip-in by Paulius Jankunas set a double-digit lead for the visitors, 12-24, after one quarter.

Mack and Mitoglou reanimated the hosts early in the second, but timely triples from Thomas Walkup and Hayes aborted the rally and made it 18-30. Despite offensive rebounds providing the hosts with several extra possessions, Zalgiris retained a comfortable 31-43 advantage behind Grigonis’s terrific scoring contribution from the perimeter. A pair of free throws by Papapetrou allowed Panathinaikos to reach halftime still breathing, 33-43.

Back-to-back triples by Aaron White and Nedovic sparked a 8-0 Panathinaikos right after the break, prompting a Zalgiris timeout. The visitors remained scoreless for almost 4 minutes, but Panathinaikos was unable to cap the comeback, as Grigonis connected from downtown to end the drought and keep his team ahead 41-46. Mack would soon force a 50-50 tie, but Zalgiris didn’t panic. Arturas Milaknis showed up with a well-timed bomb, Jankunas provided a tip-in and Augustine Rubit emerged inside to restore a 10-point gap, 50-60, entering the last quarter.

Jokubaitis took over and made it even worse for the hosts with a corner three and a jumper to build a 52-67 Zalgiris lead with 7 minutes remaining. Howard Sant-Roos and Nedovic provided much-needed triples for Panathinaikos and Papagiannis dunked to keep Zalgiris in sight, but Jokubaitis calmed his team by scoring at 63-72. The hosts went to Papagiannis to close within 67-72, but that was the extent of their rally as Hayes made a three-point play, Grigonis drilled from deep and Rubit down free throws for what would be the definitive double-digit edge that sent the victory back to Kaunas.