Zalgiris wears down Nizhny Novgorod in Game1 of VTB UL quarterfinal 0

Zalgiris (Lithuania) knocked off Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) at home, 75-63, in Game 1 of their VTB United League Playoffs quarterfinal series. The upstart Russians took an early 19-16 lead, but Zalgiris pulled ahead by double digits late in the second quarter on the way to the convincing Game 1 victory. Game 2 is tomorrow night in Kaunas.

Intro
Injuries were Zalgiris’s biggest concern entering Game 1. In addition to Paulius Jankunas and Tadas Klimavicius, Marko Popovic, Jeff Foote and Donald McGrath were not available. Darjus Lavrinovic, meanwhile, despite his presence in the starting lineup, hadn’t practiced in several days.

Zalgiris head coach Joan Plaza’s fears were realized early on as Nizhny Novgorod took a quick lead against its highly-favored opponent thanks to a balanced team effort. Mindaugas Kuzminskas, however, put Zalgiris back on top, 20-19, with a slam dunk with 2:13 left to play in the opening period. Center Darjus Lavrinovic, meanwhile, dominated in the paint, dropping 11 points in the first seven minutes to keep Zalgiris on track. After one quarter of play, the home team led, 24-21.

In the second quarter, Zalgiris demonstrated why it’s regarded as one of the top teams in Europe. After Evgeny Baburin evened the score at 24-24, Kaunas ripped off a 16-5 run over five minutes. Zalgiris repeatedly fed the ball down low during that stretch, infuriating Nizhny coach Zoran Lukic, who reamed his men out for not playing more physically. The half ended with Zalgiris on top by 10 points, 43-33.

Neither team shot very well from beyond the arc in the half, but Zalgiris’s interior penetration made the difference on offense. Darjus ended the half with 15 points, a perfect 4-4 from the field and 7-7 from the line. Overall, his team was 13-18 from inside the arc.

Nizhny Novgorod hung tough in the third quarter. Zalgiris came out firing – Kaukenas’s 3-pointer halfway through the period put Kaunas up by 18 points, 57-39 – and the team did a good job of shutting down visitors’ offense for much of the quarter. Still trailing by 17 points with 2:28 to play in the quarter, Nizhny finally found some scoring and got to within 13 points, 61-48, with 10 minutes to play.

Nizhny started the fourth quarter well. Though star forward Semen Antonov continued to struggle from the field – he finished the night 1-10 with two points – the visitors held Zalgiris scoreless for the first two minutes, quieted the Kaunas Arena crowd and cut the deficit to 10 points. After Zalgiris reeled off six straight points, Artem Yakovenko and Dijon Thompson answered back to make it 67-58 with 4:19 to play.

Turning Point
But that was as close as the visitors would get. Rimantas Kaukenas sank a 3-pointer on the following possession and Nizhny scored just five points the rest of the way. Zalgiris wins comfortably at home, 75-63, in Game 1 of this VTB United League Playoffs quarterfinal series.

Nizhny, however, has nothing to hang its head about. The youthful Russian club had more rebounds and assists than its favored opponent and shot slightly better from the perimeter. The visitors were done in by an 11-20 performance at the charity stripe and Zalgiris’s 67% field-goal percentage from inside the arc. If Semen Antonov and his teammates can knock down a few more shots, this best-of-five series could have a few twists and turns ahead.

Star of the Game
Darjus Lavrinovic. Though banged up coming into the game – Darjus has been battling back problems – he started for Zalgiris and scored a game-high 20 points. The Lithuanian giant was solid all-around, both on defense and on offense. His midrange jumper and many free throws were automatic all night long. It’s a no-brainer to pick him as the game’s star.

Stat of the Game
29% (6-21) – Nizhny Novgorod could ill afford to struggle from beyond the arc. Though slightly better than Zalgiris’s 4-15 performance, the visitors’ offense revolved around the perimeter tonight and the shooting just wasn’t good enough. Credit Zalgiris’s defense for limiting Nizhny’s long-range efficiency.

Quotes
Zalgiris head coach Joan Plaza:
– We didn’t begin the game very well, but we improved throughout the contest and could have won in the end. At the end of the third quarter I was unhappy – we made a lot of mistakes and kept giving the opponent a chance to come back. I hope we won’t allow that tomorrow. I’m confident that Nizhny Novgorod will also play better tomorrow and that Antonov and Yakovenko will create a lot of problems for us. A big thanks to our fans, who came to the arena. Their support helped us today. I hope the arena will be full tomorrow as well.

Nizhny Novgorod head coach Zoran Lukic:
– Congratulations to Zalgiris – they deserved to win. I told my players in the locker room that the fans didn’t see the same team today that won in St. Petersburg. There were a lot of mistakes and unnecessary fouls. I hope the players will have a different attitude tomorrow and will play better.

Top Performers
Zalgiris: Darjus Lavrinovic – 20 points, four rebounds; Rimantas Kaukenas – 12 points, seven assists.

Nizhny Novgorod: Vadim Panin – 15 points, seven rebounds; Dmitri Golovin – 11 points, three rebounds; Artem Yakovenko – 10 points, four rebounds.