LKL: Zalgiris lost to Neptunas at home 0

Zalgiris Kaunas lost fifth game in Lithuanian Basketball League on Monday. Kaunas’ players were defeated by Neptunas Klaipeda team 79-88 in Zalgiris arena.

Successful plays of Robertas Javtokas and Justin Dentmon helped the greens to take an early lead (10-3). At the end of the first quarter Zalgiris’ players were very aggressive by the basket and sustained their advantage (22-15).

After the hook shot of Javtokas and the fast break of Martynas Pocius the hosts extended the gap to 9 points (26-17), but Neptunas was outrebounding the opponents and gained over the balance of the game (26-27). The time-out of Zalgiris’ coach Saulius Stombergas did not help his team very much and the result was equal after the first half – 42-42.

The beginning of the third quarter was very variable. The great start of Klaipeda’s team did not help them to overtake the control of the game. Kaunas’ players made some long-range shots and after 4 points of captain Paulius Jankunas Zalgiris was leading 55-50. Neptunas did not want to give up and performed a couple of great plays – 62-63 at the end of the third period.

The defense dominated during the start of the fourth quarter. The difference remained same after the dunk of Zalgiris’ youngster Arturas Gudaitis (65-66). At the end of the game Neptunas’ players were better at rebounding and grabbed the victory – 79-88.

Top scorers:

Zalgiris: P.Jankunas 16+12reb, A.Milaknis 13+2stl, A.Gudaitis 12, R.Javtokas 10+9reb, J.Dentmon 10+3stl, T.Dimsa 5, M.Kupsas 4, S.Jasikevicius 4+4ast, V.Lipkevicius 3, M.Pocius 2.

Neptunas: M.Mazeika 18+5ast, E.Ulanovas 15+2stl, S.Galdikas 14+9reb, V.Sarakauskas 12+2stl.