Zalgiris loses to UNICS at home 31
Zalgiris Kaunas suffered a 67-76 defeat at the hands of UNICS Kazan at Zalgirio Arena on Friday night.
Lorenzo Brown top-scored with 19 points and added 10 assists while John Brown also had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds on the night he took 5 steals to set a new EuroLeague single-season record. Mario Hezonja also scored in double digits with 14 points for UNICS.
Edgaras Ulanovas led Zalgiris with 16 points and 7 rebounds, while Lukas Lekavicius scored 14.
Edgaras Ulanovas opened the scoring, Karolis Lukosiunas hit a deep three and Tai Webster added a floater for a 7-0 lead. Dimitrii Uzinskii scored UNICS’ first basket after nearly 3 minutes, but Tyler Cavanaugh, Ulanovas and Webster kept Zalgiris ahead. Lorenzo Brown scored twice and Andrey Vorontsevich struck from deep, before Joffrey Lauvergne’s alley-oop dunk made it 16-12. Lorenzo Brown and Mario Hezonja tied it up, 16-16, before Marco Spissu and Regimantas Miniotas traded triples. Hezonja and Lukas Lekavicius were also on target from deep, enough for a 26-24 Zalgiris lead after 10 minutes.
Hezonja scored 5 points early in the second quarter to send UNICS ahead, before Isaiah Canaan added a triple and John Brown hit a floater for a 26-36 lead. Ulanovas ended the 0-12 run but Hezonja stayed hot with a dunk and Tonye Jekiri added another. Niels Giffey’s floater and Cavanaugh’s fastbreak layup pulled Zalgiris closer, and Ulanovas hit a triple to make it 35-40. Vorontsevich struck from deep, keeping UNICS ahead 39-45 at the break.
Ulanovas and John Brown scored tough inside baskets early in the second half, before Cavanaugh’s triple pushed Zalgiris closer. Lorenzo and John Brown kept UNICS in front, 50-53, midway through the third, but 4 points from Lekavicius kept Zalgiris in touch. Lorenzo Brown carried on pacing UNICS with a three-point play, before OJ Mayo’s triple and two more scores from John Brown made it 54-63 at the end of the third after a 2-10 run.
Uzinskii’s triple gave the visitors a double-digit lead at the start of the fourth, and Lorenzo Brown was also on target from deep as Zalgiris struggled to find offense other than free throws from Ulanovas. Canaan’s layup made it 59-71 with five minutes left, before Lekavicius from deep and Miniotas inside gave Zalgiris some hope. However, Lorenzo Brown’s triple made UNICS more comfortable inside the final three minutes, and there was no way back for the host.
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