Lekavicius’ top game wasn’t enough to beat Maccabi 30
New EuroLeague format kicked in this week as all teams played 2 games in 3 days. It wasn’t a treat for Zalgiris Kaunas – after coming back from tough game in Istanbul Lithuanian champions had to face Maccabi Tel Aviv and lost 74:87 at Zalgirio Arena on Friday.
Andrew Goudelock led five Maccabi scorers in double figures with 18 points in helping his team improve to 2-2 on the season. Devin Smith scored 17 points, Sonny Weems added 16, D.J. Seeley 11 and Colton Iverson 10.
Lukas Lekavicius turned in a fine all-around effort for the Lithuanian champs with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists as his team fell to 1-3. Zalgiris outrebounded Maccabi 35-24, including 17 offensive boards, but was unable to make up for a poor outside shooting night, which included making just 2 of 17 threes in the first half. Kevin Pangos helped a Zalgiris revival with 3 threes in the second half before fouling out with 11 points. Leo Westermann added 9 points and 7 assists in defeat.
Maccabi opened an early 5-point lead with Weems and then Maik Zirbes causing trouble for the hosts. But with seven Zalgiris players scoring in the first quarter, the Lithuanian champs remained within 16:21 after 10 minutes.
After Brock Motum drew Zalgiris within 1, Maccabi rode Iverson to a 24:32 advantage. Lekavicius ended a 0-for10 three-point shooting stretch for the hosts, but Smith connected from deep to give the visitors a double-digit lead en route to a 32:43 halftime advantage.
Down 14 in the third quarter, Lekavicius ignited an 8:0 Zalgiris run with a three-pointer and by drawing an offensive foul from Smith. Then Pangos knocked down a pair of threes to make it 53:57. Seeley’s basket-plus-foul gave Maccabi a 57:64 edge through three quarters.
Goudelock took charge to start the fourth quarter, including 2 free throws off of technical fouls, as Maccabi built a 58:73 advantage and never looked back.
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