Maccabi blasts Zalgiris at both ends 51
Maccabi Tel Aviv dominated Zalgiris Kaunas at both ends in capturing an 85-57 victory over the Lithuanian champs on Thursday at Menora Mivtachim Arena. The result boosted Maccabi’s record to 3-5 and dropped Zalgiris to 5-3.
Tyler Dorsey paced five Maccabi scorers in double figures with 16 points, Chris Jones added 15, Dragan Bender scored 11 and Elijah Bryant and Scottie Wilbekin had 10 points apiece.
Thomas Walkup lad the Zalgiris attack with 12 points and Joffrey Lauvergne and Marius Grigonis netted 11 each.
Lauvergne opened the game with an alley-oop slam as he and Walkup combined for all of Zalgiris’s points in a 2-8 start. Back-to-Back three-pointers by Angelo Caloirao and Sandy Cohen revived Maccabi. Both teams made multiple substitutions after 6 minutes and Maccabi’s paid off quickly as Jones hit a step-back jumper to put the hosts ahead 14-12. Jones added a jumper, a steal and a three before Bender ended the first quarter with a triple to extend an 8-0 run for a 24-14 lead.
Bender nailed another three to open the second quarter and Oz Blayzer also hit from deep. Dorsey scored twice to complete a 20-0 Maccabi run for a 36-14 lead. Lukas Lekavicius’s floated ended a 4-minute Zalgiris drought before a three by Dorsey made it a 25-point lead. Lauvergne went to work in the paint, but Maccabi continued to add to its lead. A three by Dorsey made it 49-21 and Wilbekin free throws boosted the margin to 53-23 at the break.
Caloirao struck first for Maccabi in the second half. Lauvergne continued to be a shining light for Zalgiris with a pair of assists, but the visitors could not do much about their deficit. A jumper by Jones made it 65-31 midway through the third quarter. Grigonis netted Zalgiris’s first three-pointer on the team’s ninth try and Walkup heated up to trim the margin to 25. A three by Bender put the hosts ahead 72-44 through three quarters.
Ante Zizic dunked for the first points of the fourth quarter to keep the hosts cruising. Martinas Geben was effective inside to help Zalgiris chip away, but the Maccabi guards continued to add points as the hosts celebrated a convincing win.
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