Zalgiris rallies to down league-leading Barcelona 24

In a game that went back and forth for almost the full four quarters, Zalgiris Kaunas rallied to upset league-leading FC Barcelona 91-84 at a packed Zalgirio Arena on Friday night. Zalgiris improved to 7-20, while Barcelona dropped to 21-6.

Lukas Lekavicius netted 22 points to lead Zalgiris, while Joffrey Lauvergne scored 18. Edgaras Ulanovas had 16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 steals and 2 blocks, and Niels Giffey netted 14.

Nikola Mirotic led Barcelona with 26 points. Nicolas Laprovittola scored 16, Kyle Kuric netted 15, and Rokas Jokubaitis had 11 in a losing effort.

Barcelona opened the game sinking three three-pointers, one apiece from Laprovittola, Dante Exum and Mirotic. Zalgiris failed to score on its first 11 possessions, before a three-pointer from Ulanovas after more than 5 and a half minutes. Another three-pointer from Jokubaitis, Barcelona’s fourth triple of the night, opened a 3-12 lead. There were no two-pointers made in the game until Josh Nebo’s dunk with 2:07 left in the first quarter, and Lekavicius followed that up with a floater to cut it to 7-12. But Nick Calathes fed Kuric for a layup, then Kuric nailed another three for the visitors, making it 9-17 after 10 minutes.

Calathes fueled a fast break for a dunk from Brandon Davies for a 10-point lead to open the second quarter. But Lauvergne scored 7 points in a 10-0 Zalgiris run which also included a corner triple from Giffey, as the hosts tied things up at 19-19. Zalgiris then took its first lead midway through the second on a pair of free throws from Tai Webster, 23-22, as both teams took it to the foul line often. A layup from Marek Blazevic opened a 31-26 lead with 1:39 left in the half. But Mirotic heated up, scoring 6 points before the end of the quarter, and Kuric nailed a last-second triple to tie it at 35-35 at halftime.

Mirotic and Lekavicius traded triples to open the third quarter. Laprovittola also sunk one from downtown, but Giffey hit a long jumper and Lauvergne scored 4 points to restore the hosts’ lead, 44-41. Mirotic answered with a pair of layups on the next two possessions, and a three-point play from Jokubaitis had Barcelona in front again, 46-48. Lekavicius answered right back with a three, but Barcelona went on a 0-8 run, capped by a three-pointer from Jokubaitis, to open a 49-56 lead. Arturas Milaknis stopped the bleeding with a long-range dagger, but Mirotic kept finding ways to get to the free throw line and Kuric’s transition triple made it 54-63 before Lekavicius cut it to a 7-point margin at the end of the quarter.

Lekavicius opened the fourth quarter with a triple before Lauvergne scored 5 points, including a basket-and-one and a jumper that made it 66-65. Ulanovas muscled his way inside, and Nebo tipped in an ensuing missed free throw, putting the hosts up 72-68. Calathes made back-to-back floaters, but Nebo replied with back-to-back dunks to spark a 9-0 run that also included a jumper from Ulanovas as Zalgiris went up 81-72 with 1:26 to go. Kuric’s triple cut the deficit to 5 points, an advantage Zalgiris took into the final minute, and the hosts made all but one of their free throws to secure a memorable victory.