Fighting Zalgiris comes short in Vitoria 67
Baskonia Vitoria gained its fifth successive home win by holding off Zalgiris Kaunas 80-73 at Fernando Buesa Arena. The result kept Baskonia in the top half of the standings with a 12-12 record, while Zalgiris dropped to 9-15.
Baskonia was paced by an outstanding all-round display from Shavon Shields, who combined 13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Luca Vildoza netted 16 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting, while big men Vincent Poirier and Johannes Voigtmann both scored 13 points and Marcelinho Huertas had 11 points and 7 assists.
Brandon Davies scored 13 points for Zalgiris, which battled hard, but fell behind for good midway through the second quarter and has now lost five in a row on the road.
Poirier and Davies started the scoring, before an alley-oop dunk by Voigtmann and a three-pointer-and-foul by Vildoza sent Baskonia ahead 10-5. Edgaras Ulanovas beat the buzzer from deep to cut the deficit, but Shields scored free throws and a driving layup to keep the home team ahead and Matt Janning beat the first-quarter buzzer from long-range for a 17-12 edge.
Thomas Walkup and Davies scored coast-to-coast layups as Zalgiris surged in front, followed by a baby hook from Deon Thompson to complete a 0-8 run for a 17-20 lead. Huertas knocked down a three, Poirier scored twice from mid-range, Darrun Hilliard laid up and Shields dunked as Baskonia ran wild. Consecutive alley-oops from Poirier and Voigtmann completed a 15-0 run. Shields continued his blitz with a three-pointer and Baskonia led 40-25 at the break.
Davies and Ulanovas brought Zalgiris closer at the start of the third, before Thompson, Walkup and Marius Grigonis all scored in a 2-12 burst, making it 42-37. Triples from Hilliard, Vildoza and Voigtmann settled Baskonia and Voigtmann again struck from deep for a 59-52 lead at the end of the third.
A three-pointer from Arturas Milaknis gave Zalgiris fresh hope early in the final period, but Vildoza struck from downtown twice to restore Baskonia’s double-digit lead. Defenses were on top in the latter stages, but another Vildoza triple sealed the deal despite threes from Grigonis and Milaknis.
Facebook comments