Zalgiris spoil Jasikevicius' return to Kaunas by edging out Barca in thriller end / News - Basketnews.com

Edgaras Ulanovas led Zalgiris with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 22 PIR.

Credit: D.Lukšta Credit D.Lukšta

Zalgiris Kaunas spoiled Sarunas Jasikevicius' return to Kaunas. Zalgiris overcame FC Barcelona for the second straight time in Lithuania, 73-72 (20-19, 24-16, 11-21, 18-16).

Player of the Game EFF 22 Edgaras Ulanovas Points 15 Accuracy 6-11 Rebounds 7 Assists 2

Even though Keenan Evans-led Zalgiris had plus 6 points (67-61) in the mid-fourth quarter, Barca responded with a 7-0 run on their own (68-67).

The Catalans kept their minimal lead (70-69) going into the last minute while Tomas Satoransky and Rokas Jokubaitis missed crucial three-pointers with 40 seconds left.

Meanwhile, Arnas Butkevicius nailed a hard triple on the other end. With 26.3 seconds to go in the game, Zalgiris were leading by two (72-70).

Nikola Kalinic missed another open three after a timeout. Keenan Evans poured in one free throw out of two (73-70). Nicolas Laprovittola responded with two on the other side (72-73).

Seemed that Zalgiris controlled the game but Keenan Evans made a mistake leaving the last attack to Barca. However, Tomas Satoransky could not convert it into points.

Edgaras Ulanovas led Zalgiris with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 22 PIR.

Zalgiris were dominating the game tempo and preventing Barca from running the floor in the first two quarters. Their half-court offense was very effective with Edgaras Ulanovas and Rolands Smits leading the way.

Smits had 11 points at halftime while playing against his former team for the first time. Edgaras Ulanovas led all scorers with 13 points and Keenan Evans closed the first half with a wild four-point play to give Zalgiris a 9-point cushion (44-35).

Cory Higgins was scoreless midway through the third quarter but started rescuing his team in style. EuroLeague veteran scored 10 points in less than 4 minutes to bring Barca back to life, 50-49. Zalgiris were up by one (56-55) before the last 10 minutes of the game.

Zalgiris: Keenan Evans 18, Rolands Smits 15 (5 REB), Edgaras Ulanovas 15 (7 REB).

Barcelona: Jan Vesely 12, Cory Higgins 10 (5 REB), Rokas Jokubaitis 10 (6 AST), Tomas Satoransky 10.

Highlights

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