Zalgiris gets a loss against Olympiacos on the last shot 14
Zalgiris Kaunas put up a big fight against Turkish Airlines EuroLeague leaders, but in the end lost 72-74 to Olympiacos Piraeus in front of a sellout crowd at Zalgirio Arena in Round 29 on Thursday.
Olympiacos improved to 21-8 and mathematically qualified to the next round. Zalgiris dropped to 15-14 after registering its fourth home loss of the season.
Sasha Vezenkov paced the winners with 25 points on 9-for-9 two-point shooting and hit the game-winning basket, a baseline turnaround, with 6.7 seconds remaining. Shaquielle McKissic added 18 points for Olympiacos.
Rolands Smits led Zalgiris with 18 points. Tomas Dimsa added 17 and Edgaras Ulanovas 12 for the hosts, who rallied from a double-digit deficit to take a 72-70 lead. McKissic and Vezenkov made the difference down the stretch.
Thomas Walkup got Olympiacos going with a three-pointer before Moustapha Fall and Vezenkov each scored down low for a 2-7 lead. Smits, Lukas Lekavicus and Ulanovas each struck from downtown to put Zalgiris in charge, 13-10. Vezenkov followed a triple with a jumper but Dimsa answered from beyond the arc for a 17-15 Zalgiris lead after 10 minutes.
Arnas Butkevicius stepped up for the hosts, getting help from Achille Polonara and Dimsa to boost Zalgiris’s lead to 29-23. Olympiacos found a go-to guy in McKissic, who scored 11 points in less than 5 minutes to give the Reds a 34-40 lead at halftime.
Ulanovas had 5 points in a 7-0 run which made Zalgiris regain the lead, 41-40, soon after the break. Vezenkov answered with a backdoor basket, a three-pointer and a layup-plus-free throw, single-handedly restoring a 42-48 Olympiacos edge. Vezenkov scored again and Fall’s layup soon made it a 12-point game, 44-56. Kostas Papanikolaou struck from downtown and Vezenkov’s buzzer-beating jumper fixed the score at 49-61 after 30 minutes.
Smits sank three bombs from beyond the arc, getting help from Dimsa and Butkevicius to complete Zalgiris’ comeback, 72-70, with 1:12 left. McKissic buried 2 of 3 free throws and Vezenkov added a turnaround jumper for a 72-74 score with 6.7 seconds left. Ulanovas missed a floater in the hosts’ final possession.
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