Zalgiris fights off Milan comeback to win on the road 6

Zalgiris Kaunas ensured that it finished EuroLeague double-week with a smile after beating EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 66-61 at Mediolanum Forum on Friday night to secure its second straight road win.

The Lithuanian team led comfortably for most of the game but watched Milan trim a 19-point deficit to two points, before Edgaras Ulanovas delivered a dagger three-pointer for the win with 27 seconds to play.

Zalgiris sits in seventh spot in the standings with a record of 11-8 after grabbing its fifth win in the last six games, while Milan is 17th and dropped to 6-13 following its third straight defeat.

Kevarrius Hayes had 16 points and 7 rebounds, while Ulanovas finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds for Zalgiris. Rolands Smits also had 13 points in the win.

Milan’s offense did not produce enough for the win, as Billy Baron was the hosts’ only scorer in double figures with 11 points.

The game was close for the first half of the first quarter, with the score at 9-6. But, Smits moved to 8 points as Zalgiris reeled off a 10-0 run for a 19-6 cushion, which was 19-9 after 10 minutes.

Hayes took over more of the scoring in the second quarter, with the guests increasing their lead to 12 points multiple times. At the break, the score was 37-27.

Smits and Hayes continued to lead the way in the second half and that helped Zalgiris extend its cushion to 15 points, 49-34, midway through the third quarter. Milan could not combine offense and defense, as the deficit grew to 19 points, 59-40, after three quarters.

Zalgiris failed to score in the first six minutes of the final frame and Milan scored the first 10 points to pull within nine, 59-50. Zalgiris came up with a backbreaker opening score as Hayes finished with a put-back score following his team’s fourth offensive rebound on a single possession for a 61-50 lead. Milan continued to march closer with Devon Hall hitting one three-pointer and Baron burying two triples to make it 63-61 with 47 seconds left. That was when Zalgiris team captain Ulanovas provided his team’s game-winning three-pointer.