ALBA control Zalgiris' comebacks efforts to secure the win / News - Basketnews.com
ALBA Berlin (8-12) put an end to a three-game winning streak by Zalgiris Kaunas (6-16), taking them down on their home floor at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague 82-74 (24-24, 20-6, 15-20, 23-24).
Player of the Game EFF 18 Johannes Thiemann Points 17 Accuracy 6-8 Rebounds 3 Assists 0
Johannes Thiemann nailed three straight 3-pointers to increase ALBA's lead to 15 in the fourth (68-53). Zalgiris didn't give up, going on a 15-5 run and coming within five (68-73). However, that turned out to be their best effort, as ALBA secured an eight-point victory.
Thiemann led ALBA with 17 points (3/4 2PT, 3/4 3PT, 2/2 FT), 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover, and 18 PIR in just 16.5 minutes of play. It was Thiemann's career-high in the EuroLeague.
"It's unbelievably fun. Winning the German Cup gave us a little confidence so we're happy that we're on a run right now," Thiemann admitted. "I had an open look and then they still were not respecting my shot so I just took them and luckily they went in."
On the opposing side, Josh Nebo was the most efficient player for Zalgiris. He finished with 12 points (4/5 2PT, 4/6 FT), 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 26 PIR.
Luke Sikma's six quick points led ALBA to an early 12-5 lead in the first quarter. The hosts were up for most of the period but Lukas Lekavicius converted a last-second shot to tie the game at 24.
However, ALBA wouldn't allow Zalgiris to even think about gaining the advantage and started the second period on a 13-0 run, not allowing the visitors to score for almost eight minutes (37-24). They only allowed Zalgiris to score six points in the period and went into halftime with a 14-point lead.
Zalgiris mounted an impressive comeback in the third quarter, with Tyler Cavanaugh's 3-pointer cutting the hosts' deficit to three (50-53). However, ALBA finished the period on a 6-0 spurt to regain a nine-point lead going into the fourth (59-50).
"I'm not disappointed," Zalgiris coach Jure Zdovc said post-game. "We tried hard in the second half. We had a lot of energy. We were within one defensive stop of maybe winning the game. But energy, you could see that we were a little tired from the game on Tuesday. Congratulations to ALBA on the win."
ALBA: Johannes Thiemann 17, Jaleen Smith 16, Maodo Lo 12, Luke Sikma 12, Christ Koumadje 8 (6 REB), Tamir Blatt 5 (7 AST).
Zalgiris: Tyler Cavanaugh 18 (6 REB), Arturas Milaknis 14, Josh Nebo 12 (8 REB), Lukas Lekavicius 9 (5 AST), Paulius Jankunas 8.
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