Zalgiris doesn’t hold Barca’s star-players in Kaunas 23

Zalgiris Kaunas fought till the last minute but lost to FC Barcelona 86-93 at a packed Zalgirio Arena on Friday. The visiting team got ahead early on and protected a solid lead throughout the first half, before Zalgiris fought back hard in the second half and briefly led. But Barcelona stayed strong in the final period to claim its sixth win of the season.

Cory Higgins was on fire in the second half, making 5 of 5 three-pointers in a career-high total of 27 points to inspire his team to victory. Nikola Mirotic was also outstanding, combining 24 points and 6 rebounds.

Zach LeDay top scored for the home team with 16 points, while Jock Landale (10), Marius Grigonis (14), Thomas Walkup (11) and Arturas Milaknis (11) also reached double figures. Barcelona improves to 6-1 for a share of the lead of the standings, while Zalgiris is now 3-4.

A big dunk from Landale and a triple from Alex Perez opened the scoring, but Rolands Smits answered with 5 points and a three-point play from Mirotic made it 5-8. Mirotic scored two more baskets but Lukas Lekavicius and Nigel Hayes were on target to keep it close until Mirotic continued his early masterclass to make it 12-19. Lekavicius twice penetrated to score in a 6-0 run, and it was 20-23 at the end of the first quarter.

Milaknis and Ante Tomic scored inside early in the second, and 9 fast points off the bench from Pierre Oriola kept Barcelona ahead, 28-34. Milaknis and Thomas Walkup struck from deep, but Tomic and Malcolm Delaney answered with layups. Adam Hanga struck from deep and Mirotic tipped in, before LeDay scored on the buzzer to make it 40-47 at half-time.

LeDay’s dunk and fastbreak layup got the second half going, and LeDay scored again to tie it up at 47-47. Higgins netted the visiting team’s only field goal in the first 5 minutes of the quarter, but LeDay scored again to give Zalgiris a 51-50 edge. Barcelona moved ahead again through free throws, before three more scores from Higgins, including a buzzer-beating triple, made it 61-66 at the end of the third.

Higgins struck two more triples at the start of the fourth and then added a driving score for a 64-74 lead. Zalgiris battled but a pair of baskets from Hanga maintained a double-digit margin. A three-point play by Grigonis and a layup by Walkup made it 77-82 with 3 minutes left, but a mid-range strike from Brandon Davies kept Barcelona ahead. Hayes struck from deep for 83-87, but Mirotic replied with free throws and a transition score by Delaney secured the outcome.