Zalgiris captures victory against Panathinaikos 35
Zalgiris Kaunas recorded its first win of the 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season by downing Panathinaikos Athens 76-69 at Zalgirio Arena on Tuesday.
Zalgiris improved to 1-9 in the standings while dropping Panathinaikos to 2-8.
Arturas Milaknis led the winners with 13 points, Tyler Cavanaugh scored 12, Edgaras Ulanovas 11 and Marek Blazevic 10 for Zalgiris.
Daryl Macon Jr. paced Panathinaikos with 24 points and Ioannis Papapetrou added 10.
Macon got Panathinaikos going with 4 quick points before Mantas Kalnietis struck from downtown and Cavanaugh followed a turnaround jumper with a layup to put Zalgiris in charge, 7-4. Blazevic downed a jumper, but Papapetrou bettered that with a layup-plus-foul. Milaknis matched Okaro White’s dunk with a driving basket and soon added a triple for a 14-9 Zalgiris edge. After Ulanovas buried a baseline jumper, Papapetrou and Georgios Papagiannis got Panathinaikos within 16-12. Milaknis kept pushing the hosts and Ulanovas took over with a tip-in that boosted the lead to 20-12 after 10 minutes.
Howard Sant-Roos buried a fallaway jumper early in the second quarter. Niels Giffey, Yogi Ferrell and Milaknis each made threes and Blazevic scored down low to make it a double-digit game, 28-17. Sant-Roos took over with a three-point play and Jeremy Evans scored in the paint, but Tai Webster and Blazevic kept Zalgiris in control, 34-22. Leonidas Kaselakis stepped up with a layup and Macon added a wild four-point play to give the Greens hope at 34-28. Janis Strelnieks buried a triple and Blazevic banked in a close shot to restore a 39-28 Zalgiris lead. Macon and Papapetrou each struck from beyond the arc. White stepped up next to bring Panathinaikos within 43-37 at halftime.
Zoran Dragic and White traded three-pointers immediately after the break. Cavanaugh joined the three-point shootout and matched Kendrick Perry’s driving basket with a layup for a 51-43 lead. Papagiannis hit a jumper and Macon added a driving layup, but Dragic made it 53-47. Ulanovas buried a three-pointer and Josh Nebo ignited the crowd with a dunk. Lukas Lekavicius buried a floater only to see Perry answer from downtown to fix the score at 60-52 after 30 minutes.
Macon buried one from beyond the arc early in the fourth quarter and Papagiannis dunked, which prompted Zalgiris to call timeout at 60-57. Milaknis rescued the hosts with a triple and Strelnieks added a backdoor layup that gave Zalgiris fresh air at 65-57. Mantas Kalnietis found his first points, but Kaselakis buried a corner triple and Macon gave Panathinaikos hope at 67-63. Cavanaugh bettered Papagiannis’s jump hook with a triple and Giffey made it 72-65 with 2 minutes left. Macon hit free throws and a jump hook by Ulanovas sealed the outcome, 74-67, as Panathinaikos never recovered.
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