Zalgiris takes historic home win against CSKA 32

Zalgiris Kaunas sent a message that echoed all around the competition by downing reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion CSKA Moscow 79:74 at Zalgirio Arena on Tuesday. Zalgiris improved to 7-12 in the standings, while CSKA dropped to 14-5. Zalgiris grabbed its first EuroLeague win against CSKA in almost 17 years, breaking an 18-game losing streak in Europe’s top competition.

Kevin Pangos led the winners with 21 points, Augusto Lima added 12, Paulius Jankunas 11 and Leo Westermann tallied 10 points and 10 assists for Zalgiris.

James Augustine led CSKA with 15 points and Cory Higgins and Nando De Colo each scored 11 for the visitors. CSKA led 38:45 at halftime, but things changed after the break as Zalgiris improved its defense and forced the visitors into 19 turnovers. Zalgiris buried 8-of-16 three-point shots (50%).

Lima followed a dunk with a turnaround jumper and Pangos struck from downtown to give Zalgiris a 7:2 lead. Kyle Hines stepped up for CSKA and three-pointers by Dmitry Kulagin and Andrey Vorontsevich brought the visitors within 12:11. Lima dunked again, Pangos added a floater and Jankunas buried a jumper for an 18:13 Zalgiris lead. De Colo and Augustine took over tie the game, 20:20, after 10 minutes.

De Colo kept pushing CSKA early in the second quarter and got help from Augustine and Victor Khryapa to give their team a 24:29 margin. Motum rescued Zalgiris with consecutive baskets, but a red-hot Khryapa followed a triple with a two-handed slam and soon followed with a layup for a 31:38 CSKA lead. Pangos and Edgaras Ulanovas tried to change things for Zalgiris, but Kulagin and an outstanding Augustine kept CSKA ahead, 38:45, at halftime.

Pangos and Jankunas each struck from beyond the arc in an 8:0 run that put Zalgiris back in charge, 46:45. De Colo swished a jumper, but a dunk by Ulanovas and a driving layup by Westermann restored a 50:47 Zalgiris lead. Higgins buried 6 of 6 free throws late in the third quarter and three-pointers by Vorontsevich and Aaron Jackson gave CSKA a 57:61 edge after 30 minutes.

Zalgiris head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius received his second technical foul early in the fourth quarter and was ejected from the game. Jankunas stepped up with consecutive baskets and Pangos added a six-meter jumper to make it 65:69 with six minutes left. Arturas Milaknis struck from downtown, Ulanovas added a jumper and Pangos joined the three-point shootout to complete Zalgiris’s comeback, 73:72, with more than two minutes to go. Higgins hit a jumper, but Jankunas hit free throws and Milaknis banked in a close shot for a 77:74 Zalgiris lead with 27.4 seconds left. De Colo missed from downtown and Pangos sealed Zalgiris’s win from the free throw line.