Zalgiris rallies to stun Monaco 16

Lukas Lekavicius scored a floater with 16.8 seconds to go, giving Zalgiris Kaunas its only lead of the game and lifting it to a come-from-behind 83-82 win against AS Monaco at the Salle Gaston Medecin on Thursday night.

Monaco led for more than 39 minutes, and by as many as 13 points, but Niels Giffey led Zalgiris during a second-half rally in team’s first road win of the season. Zalgiris snapped its nine-game losing streak and improved to 4-19, while Monaco dropped to 12-13 on the season.

Giffey finished with 15 points on perfect shooting, Arturas Milaknis netted 14 points and Joffrey Lauvergne scored 13 for the victors.

Dwayne Bacon and Mike James scored 18 apiece for Monaco, Donatas Motiejunas had 12 and Will Thomas 10 points in a losing effort.

Monaco started strong on offense behind Motiejunas, who strung together 6 points. James took the ball mid-court and raced for a dunk before a three-point play from Yakuba Outtara opened a 15-6 lead. Arturas Milaknis hit the first three-pointer of the game before a close-range basket from Tyler Cavanaugh and a pair of baskets from Lauvergne got the visitors within 18-15. However, Bacon nailed a triple and Alpha Diallo had a tip-in to help the hosts hold a 23-18 advantage after 10 minutes.

James had a pair of floaters, but a triple from Karolis Lukosiunas and dunk from Josh Nebo helped cut the margin to 27-25 early in the second quarter. However, James had another steal and a dunk, fueling a 10-2 run capped by a put-back dunk from Will Thomas that opened the first double-digit margin of the night, 37-27. Cavanaugh hit a three-pointer for the visitors, but James nailed a step-back shot from way downtown and Monaco led 46-36 at halftime.

Milaknis opened the third quarter with a corner three, but Thomas muscled his way inside for a three-point play and followed it up by nailing a three-pointer for a 54-41 advantage. But Milaknis replied with back-to-back triples to get Zalgiris back into the game and Paulius Jankunas had a layup that cut the deficit to 54-49. James snapped a 0-8 run with a three-pointer and Bacon hit one from downtown, too, but Zalgiris continued its rally with Giffey scoring a layup-plus-foul and then connecting on a three-pointer to make it 62-61 in the final minute of the third, before Donta Hall beat the third-quarter buzzer with a put-back.

Nebo started the fourth quarter with a dunk, but Bacon scored 5 points in a 7-0 run, including a three-pointer to make it 71-63. Both teams got all their points from the free throw line until Edgaras Ulanovas nailed a triple followed by a floater from Lekavicius to make it 75-71 with 5 minutes to go. A three-pointer from Jankunas got the visitors within 77-74. Bacon answered right back with a three of his own, but after a timeout, Giffey scored 5 points, including a three-pointer that made it 80-79. Thomas and Lekavicius traded baskets to keep it at 1-point game going into the final minute and Zalgiris overcame a pair of turnovers with Lekavicius sinking a floater. Monaco had 16.8 seconds left on the clock and James took the ball, but his step-back three-point attempt hit only the front rim as Zalgiris celebrated a long-awaited win.