Electrifying atmosphere in Kaunas wasn't enough: Loyd carries Zenit over Zalgiris / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: T.Matijoška Credit T.Matijoška

Round 2 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague tipped off with Zalgiris Kaunas (0-2) welcoming Zenit St. Petersburg (2-0). In the end, Zenit took care of the hosts 70-64 (21-16, 19-18, 15-17, 15-13).

Player of the Game EFF 19 Jordan Loyd Points 19 Accuracy 7-11 Rebounds 0 Assists 1

The Russian powerhouse put pressure on Zalgiris, which had trouble scoring the ball in the fourth, regaining a double-digit lead after Andrey Zubkov's three (63-53).

The Lithuanian champions managed to cut the deficit to three points with 11.6 seconds to go (64-67), but Jordan Loyd and Jordan Mickey kept calm at the charity stripe, helping their team come away with a six-point victory.

Jordan Loyd was the high-scorer for Zenit, ending the game with 19 points (6/8 2PT, 1/3 3PT, 4/4 FT), 1 assist, 1 steal, and 19 PIR.

"It was great to see the fans and play in front of the fans," Loyd said post-game. "As a team, we had a really bad showing a couple of days ago in VTB [United League] and we just wanted to bounce back, we wanted to fight, regardless of the outcome.

We just wanted to show some character, some personality and we did that tonight. They're a great team, especially with the crowd behind them, but we just tried to stick to coach's plan, play great defense and then secure the rebounds and we did a great job of that down the stretch."

Janis Strelnieks led the way for Zalgiris with 14 points (2/2 2PT, 3/5 3PT, 1/1 FT), 1 assist, 4 turnovers, and 11 PIR.

"All game our offense was more or less okay," Zenit's coach Xavi Pascual said. "But we finished with 18 assists, 9 turnovers, 10 steals. These numbers are excellent for a team like us. But we were not effective. This is the only problem. We played serious defense and this is why we won."

I want to congratulate the club and the fans. It is amazing what I feel here. This is probably the most beautiful stadium in the competition with one of the greatest atmospheres. It’s amazing what I feel here."

Points this season

45%70,0Points made:70,0Accuracy:44,7%Place in standings:10Record max:76Record min:64Best scorer:Janis StrelnieksTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

Both teams traded buckets in the second, but a 6-0 spurt by Zenit brought them up by 12 (37-25). However, Janis Strelnieks responded with five quick points to bring Zalgiris within six going into the half (40-34).

Zalgiris carried their momentum into the second half, coming out of the locker room with an 8-2 run to tie the game at 42. Emmanuel Mudiay scored his first points of the game with a mid-range jumper, putting Zalgiris in front (46-47). But it was Zenit that had the last laugh in the quarter, finishing it with a four-point advantage (55-51).

Emmanuel Mudiay was lackluster for Zalgiris, ending with 4 points (2/5 2PT, 0/2 3PT), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, and 1 PIR over 12 minutes.

Zenit: Jordan Loyd 19, Billy Baron 11, Arturas Gudaitis 7, Mateusz Ponitka 6 (7 REB, 6 AST), Andrey Zubkov 6, Sergey Karasev 5, Alex Poythress 5, Jordan Mickey 5, Conner Frankamp 3, Mindaugas Kuzminskas 3.

Zalgiris: Janis Strelnieks 14, Joffrey Lauverge 10 (4 REB), Lukas Lekavicius 10 (6 AST), Josh Nebo 7 (6 REB), Edgaras Ulanovas 7, Niels Giffey 5, Mantas Kalnietis 5, Emmanuel Mudiay 4, Paulius Jankunas 2 (7 REB).

Highlights

Xavi Pascual's post-game comments

Martin Schiller's post-game comments

Janis Strelnieks' post-game comments

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