Hot-shooting Zalgiris overpowers Baskonia to clinch road win 4

A solid Zalgiris Kaunas played some great team basketball and secured a statement 99-82 victory on the road at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz on Thursday night.

The visitors were sublime from behind the arc (14-for-21, 66.7% 3FG) and circulated the ball smoothly (21 assists) to power past Baskonia. Zalgiris improved to 3-1, while the hosts dropped to 1-3 after recording their third home defeat.

Rolands Smits paced Zalgiris with 21 points, while Brady Manek paired his 17 points with 14 rebounds, as he went 5-for-5 on three-pointers. Keenan Evans had 14 points, with Dovydas Giedraitis and Tomas Dimsa scoring 13 each.

As for Baskonia, Chima Moneke scored a career-high 32 points and Markus Howard added a season-high 26 points, but it wasn’t enough to inspire a comeback.

Zalgiris hit the ground running and outscored the hosts 22-14 in the first quarter.

Manek scored twice from downtown to bring up the lead to 30-14, but Baskonia did bounce back in the second quarter, and cut it to 38-37. Naz Mitrou-Long finished the first half with 2+1 possession, 45-38.

Giedraitis and Smits made a couple of three-pointers each in the third quarter, as Zalgiris run away 62-44. Dimsa scored 8 points in a row to cap the third quarter, 74-60.

Manek scored 5 more points, but Baskonia was trying to make a comeback (79-73). However, Evans, Smits and Giedraitis took matter into their own hands and sealed the victory, 99-82.