Last-second Walkup wins a thriller for Zalgiris 17
Zalgiris Kaunas edged out Olympiacos Piraeus in an 81-79 thriller on Friday night as Thomas Walkup scored with 1 second remaining to cap a 9-0 run in the last two minutes.
The first half was fast moving as both offenses found their rhythm, and Zalgiris led 45-44 at half-time. The home side threatened to pull clear in the third quarter but Olympiacos kept battling, and a flurry of three-pointers gave the visitors control late on. It was 72-79 with two minutes remaining but Olympiacos couldn’t score again and Zalgiris produced a series of big plays, culminating in Walkup’s steal and score.
Joffrey Lauvergne led the winning side with 21 points and 7 rebounds, while Arturas Milaknis scored 11 and Augustine Rubit added 10. Olympiacos was paced by 16 points apiece for veterans
Kostas Sloukas and Georgios Printezis, and Sasha Vezenkov added 11 points in defeat. The victory keeps Zalgiris in the playoffs places with a 12-9 record, just ahead of Olympiacos (11-10).
Milaknis opened the scoring from close-range before Sloukas and Marius Grigonis added triples and Lauvergne hit a mid-range jumper for a 7-3 edge. Walkup and Paulius Jankunas stretched the lead with triples, but Aaron Harrison’s three-point play and another Sloukas deep strike kept Olympiacos close, 13-9. Harrison was also on target from deep, before Lauvergne and Hassan Martin struck inside blows. A triple from Charles Jenkins was answered by a threeball and driving layup from Rokas Jokubaitis, and a buzzer-beater in transition by Lukas Lekavicius gave Zalgiris a 26-20 lead after ten minutes.
Jokubaitis and Sloukas added further triples early in the second, and Rubit scored twice inside for a 33-25 lead. Nigel Hayes kept the three-point party rolling but two baskets for Vezenkov got Olympiacos closer, and Livio Jean-Charles scored at the basket to make it 36-33. Vezenkov and Jean-Charles capped a 0-9 run to give the Reds their first lead. Vassilis Spanoulis and Printezis got on the scoreboard, but Milaknis hit a triple and Martynas Geben added a putback to send Zalgiris in front, 45-44 at the break.
Printezis scored twice early in the third, either side of a three-point play by Lauvergne. Inside strikes from Octavius Ellis and Hayes kept it tied, 50-50, before Lauvergne struck again with a tip-in and Printezis stayed hot with a trademark floater. The scoring finally slowed before Lauvergne’s hook shot and Milaknis’s triple made it 57-52 midway through the third. The red-hot Lauvergne battled for two more scores to stretch the lead, 61-54, but a four-point play by Sloukas reignited Olympiacos. Printezis netted again and it was 63-60 at the end of the third.
Rubit and Martin were on target early in the fourth, before Printezis struck from deep and Shaq McKissic drove to the basket to tie it, 67-67. Grigonis and Vezenkov made three-pointers to preserve parity with five minutes left. Spanoulis and Printezis both hit triples to put Olympiacos ahead, and Spanoulis added another to make it 72-79 with three minutes on the clock. An alley-oop from Lauvergne gave the home team hope, and a Milaknis three-pointer made it 77-79 with a minute left. Lauvergne tied it up with a fastbreak dunk, and Walkup stole the ball away from Sloukas for the winning score. Olympiacos had 0.8 seconds to force overtime, but Grigonis leapt to disrupt the attempted alley-oop and the win stayed in Kaunas.
Su pergale! Tai kovingumo pavyzdys.Saunuoliai!
aciu zalgiriui kad uz pergale . jau buvau prarades vilti
Oly mums parankus varžovas… Bet Thomas Walkup -super !!!
Ačiū Žalgiriui už pergalę kas netikėjo tai patikkit
Sekme lydi Zalgiri svarbI pergale
Teisejams priekaistaves Bartzokas turejome laimeti bet dareme viska kad pralaimetume
Atrode neimanoma isprausti I Kampa Bet Zalgiris parode Charakteri Tikejima
Kai Zalgiri treniravo Plaza , lygiai taip pat buvo pries Reala Kaune, tik Zalgiris pirmavo 7 taskais likus minutei, mes tribunose jau pergale sventem, bet Zalgiris pradejo klysti ir gavo. Tokie pralaimejimai labai skaudus ir galima tik uzjausti Olympiacos. Uztai mums dabar gerai po ispleštos pergales. Jau antra karta si sezona paskutine sek pataiko lemiama metima, pries tai Grigonis, dabar Walkup.
Jei apie atskirus zaidejus, neisnaudojo savo potencialo Rubitas, nzn kas jam yra, bet kartais aiksteleje jis miega. Pirmas Gebeno isejimas buvo baisus. Bet uztai Lauvergne vel suzaide puikiai ir man labai patiko Jankunas. Eme kamuolius, dave pasus, apsigyne, pataike, visada savo vietoj buvo. O padkutine min si ryta as dar karta perziuresiu, kosmosas ten.
Šaunuoliai, išplėšė pergalę dantimis!
Kažkada rašiau, kad galėtų sirgalių triukšmą paleisti- žiūriu idėja realizuota?. Labai malonu girdėti jų balsus.
Grigonis pradėjo per daug ant savęs imti,sau leisti- sekasi,nesiseka, mesti bile kiek…nu bet kaip bebūtų- su įspūdinga pergale!
Sveikinu fanai su tokia neįtikėtina pergale, kaip gaila kad nesame arenoje
Dviguba Zalgirio pergales verte kaip zalgirieciai issikapste pagal holivudini scenariju
Kazko panasei galejom ir Su real Laimet istraukt
Bet Dabar Irasyti garsai sirgaliu plojimai ?? Po zalgirio metimu
Kiek isimuses buvo oly buvo pristabde Grigoni O Lauvergne pirma puse turejo problemu su 3 prazangom na cia jau palankesni varzovai po krepsiu Lauvergne visur kur reikia isnaudojo progas
Olympiakos pateike protesta Eurolygai del Lemiamo Runktyniu Epizodo
puiku, kai laimima ir tą dieną, kai Grigoniui nekrito, tas pats Walkupas sužaidė silpnai, nors iš pataikė tą metimą, Luko, Hayeso pasirodymai buvo blnkūs, bet šiaip tai žiauri neteisybė būtų, jei ptralaimėtumėm, nes čiua pafgal rezultatą 2 taškeliai, o pagal naudingumą komandų – 97:80
Zalgiris gali but Ramus olympiakos zodziai del protesto skyresI nuo veiksmu