Zalgiris' mighty quartet feasts in OAKA to overcome shorthanded PAO / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: zalgiris.lt Credit zalgiris.lt

Zalgiris Kaunas (6-15) eased past Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (6-15) 96-83 (29-10, 23-24, 24-27, 20-22) and reached their third straight Turkish Airlines EuroLeague victory.

Player of the Game EFF 29 Edgaras Ulanovas Points 22 Accuracy 9-12 Rebounds 4 Assists 2

Lukosiunas, Cavanaugh, and Ulanovas-led Zalgiris opened the game with a successful 15-5 stretch. PAO came within 6 points (9-15) but the Lithuanian champions struck again.

Jure Zdovc's squad closed the first tally with a 12-0 spurt (29-10), while Arturas Milaknis converted a couple of shots from deep.

Despite Daryl Macon and Nemanja Nedovic's effort, Zalgiris maintained the solid lead (52-34), going into the 15-minute break.

Nedovic scored 16 points in the third quarter but Joffrey Lauvergne, Edgaras Ulanovas, and Tyler Cavanaugh did not let PAO come within a single-digit deficit, as Lithuanians were leading 76-61 before the last 10 minutes of the match.

Zalgiris controlled the game in the fourth period as well, as Lukas Lekavicius and Edgaras Ulanovas' buckets sealed the deal for Zalgiris (94-76).

Edgaras Ulanovas led the route for Zalgiris, posting 22 points (7/9 2PT, 2/3 3PT, 2/2 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 29 PIR.

"Most important was that we won today. We are last in the standings this season. Nobody wants to be last. Hopefully, this will be a huge boost for us to go even higher. It's important to have a good game on Thursday," Ulanovas said post-game.

Joffrey Lauvergne finished the game with a double-double, registering 17 points (7/14 2PT, 3/3 FT), 12 rebounds, and 22 PIR, while Arturas Milaknis and Tyler Cavanaugh had 16 and 15 points respectively.

Nemanja Nedovic had a great game for the losing squad, accumulating 23 points (3/6 2PT, 4/9 3PT, 5/5 FT), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 25 PIR.

"Unfortunately, we had a really bad first quarter. We did so much damage to ourselves. Not that we played correctly and well the other three quarters, but at least we had a more balanced performance," spoke Dimitris Priftis.

PAO had a 10-man roster for this game, as Stefan Jovic, Ioannis Papapetrou, Nikos Chougkaz, and Lefteris Bochoridis were sidelined.

Meanwhile, Zalgiris were forced to play without Tai Webster, Mantas Kalnietis, and Regimantas Miniotas.

Zalgiris: Edgaras Ulanovas 22 (7/9 2PT, 2/3 3PT, 29 PIR), Joffrey Lauvergne 17 (7/14 2PT, 12 REB), Arturas Milaknis 16 (4/7 3PT), Tyler Cavanaugh 15 (4/4 2PT, 2/3 3PT, 9 REB), Lukas Lekavicius 8 (5 AST).

Panathinaikos: Nemanja Nedovic 23 (4/9 3PT, 5/5 FT, 25 PIR), Howard Sant-Roos 16 (2/6 3PT), Georgios Papagiannis 11 (4/5 2PT, 7 REB), Daryl Macon 9 (7 AST, 4 TO), Leonidas Kaselakis 9.

Highlights

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