0-7: crushed by the champions, Zalgiris repeat their worst start in EuroLeague history / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Aykut Akici/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Aykut Akici/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

The last two teams in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings faced off today in Istanbul.

Player of the Game EFF 22 Tibor Pleiss Points 17 Accuracy 7-10 Rebounds 7 Assists 0

Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2/5) won their second EuroLeague game by taking down the winless Zalgiris Kaunas (0-7) 94-60 (24-17, 20-12, 25-17, 25-14).

Efes jumped out to a substantial lead in the first quarter, winning it by seven (24-17). They held Zalgiris to 12 points in the second quarter, increasing their advantage to 16 going into halftime (44-29).

The hosts kept on increasing their lead in the third quarter. Efes' advantage reached 27 at one point (67-40). Their dominance continued in the fourth quarter, winning by 34 to give Zalgiris their seventh straight loss.

The big men led Efes tonight. Tibor Pleiss finished with 17 points (6/9 2PT, 1/1 3PT, 2/2 FT), 6 rebounds, 1 block, and 21 PIR. Filip Petrusev added 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 20 PIR.

"I think we just played basketball we played the last few years," Tibor Pleiss mentioned after the game. "We shared the ball, on defense we helped each other, we moved the ball pretty well. Today we made our shots where we had some problems in the last few games. Today was excellent."

Zalgiris tied their worst-ever start in the EuroLeage. The 0-7 start is their worst start since the 2008-09 season.

Vasilije Micic returned to the lineup, ending with 11 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 turnovers, and 14 PIR.

Emmanuel Mudiay and Joffrey Lauverge didn't play for Zalgiris tonight.

"We know Efes would go strong tonight. All the injuries that we have it is hard to keep the rhythm 40 minutes with this team," Zalgiris coach Jure Zdovc said post-game. "We missed a lot of open shots, they scored some tough shots, and after we just collapsed. Not even close to what we want. Congratulations to Efes."

Efes: Tibor Pleiss 17 (7 REB), Filip Petrusev 14 (6 REB), Vasilije Micic 11, Krunoslav Simon 11, Adrien Moerman 8, Shane Larkin 8.

Zalgiris: Arturas Milaknis 14, Lukas Lekavicius 14, Tyler Cavanaugh 9, Paulius Jankunas 9, Josh Nebo 8.

Highlights:

Thank you for reading us! Help us even more.