Maccabi shot the lights out in Kaunas 39
Zalgiris Kaunas couldn’t stop Maccabi Tel Aviv hot shooting and lost 78-94 on Tuesday night at Zalgirio Arena.
James Nunnally starred with 32 points on 6-for-7 shooting on both twos and threes. Scottie Wilbekin scored 20 points and dished 6 assists. Ante Zizic added 13 points and Keenan Evans tallied 10 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds.
Marek Blazevic netted a career-high 20 points for Zalgiris. Lukas Lekavicius paired 16 points with 9 assists, Tyler Cavanaugh also scored 16 and Edgaras Ulanovas posted 10 points and 6 rebounds in a losing effort.
Blazevic scored twice inside, while Cavanaugh and Lekavicius each hit a shot from long range to make it 10-6 in the early going. Maccabi caught up quickly and after Cavanaugh and Nunnally exchanged triples, a fastbreak dunk from Evans and another three from Nunnally helped the visitors back in front 15-18. Cavanaugh and Regimantas Miniotas cut it to 19-21 at the end of the first.
After Angelo Caloiaro extended the margin to 5 points at the start of the second, Zalgiris answered with a triple from Karolis Lukosiunas and close-range baskets from Lekavicius and Ulanovas that put the hosts back ahead, 26-25. The teams kept trading blows, as Wilbekin opened his personal tally with a triple and Nunnally added another one to make it 28-31. But Blazevic scored 8 points, including a pair of baskets-plus-fouls, to give Zalgiris another lead. A floater from Ulanovas made it 40-36. Nunnally remained hot for the visitors, while Lukosiunas and Wilbekin traded three-pointers and Zizic exchanged a layup with Lekavicius, sending two teams into halftime tied at 47-47.
The offenses slowed down in the third quarter. Blazevic scored twice inside, but Wilbekin and Nunnally hit a triple apiece and Maccabi led 53-57 midway through the quarter. A three-pointer from Wilbekin extended the margin and, after Lekavicius scored from close range to end the hosts’ drought, a three from Nunnally extended the margin to 55-64. Arturas Milaknis nailed a long jumper and Lekavicius a last-second three-pointer to make it 60-64 after 30 minutes.
Efficient offenses were back at the state of the fourth as the teams combined to score on their first seven trips down the floor. Lukosiunas knocked down a triple for the hosts, but John DiBartolomeo and Ante Zizc scored three-point plays on consecutive possessions to open a 67-74 lead. Cavanaugh scored inside and the hosts got baskets from the free-throw line, but a triple from Wilbekin and a runner from Nunnally opened the first double-digit margin, 73-83. More triples, one each from Derrick Williams and Evans, and a fastbreak layup from Nunnally made it 76-91 in the penultimate minute to put that game on ice.
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