2018-19Regular SeasonRound 2
October 17, 2018 CET: 19:00
Local time: 20:00 SINAN ERDEM SPORTS HALL.

Zalgiris sinks Efes for first win this season

Zalgiris Kaunas picked up its first win of the new Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, and did so on the road by holding off Anadolu Efes Istanbul 79-93 on Wednesday night at Sinan Erdem Dome. Both teams now have 1-1 records. Brandon Davies led the winners with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, while Leo Westermann had 17 points for Zalgiris. Krunoslav Simon scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for Efes.

Zalgiris was the team making the first little run of the night, 0-6 sparked by Thomas Walkup. Westermann hit a three-pointer that put Zalgiris up 11-15, but Vasilije Micic answered with a triple and Dogus Balbay hit one from the left corner to make it 19-19 after 10 minutes. Balabay hit another triple at the start of the second, but Laurynas Birutis had a three-point play and Marius Grigonis nailed a three-pointer to open a 24-29 margin. Neither team could get into a rhythm, with players often going to the free throw line, before Westermann hit a corner three, sparking a 2-13 run that gave Zalgiris a 32-46 halftime advantage. The visitors continued where they left off in the third, as Paulius Jankunas hit a triple and Nate Wolters and Davies scored close range baskets to make it 36-55. Efes stopped the bleeding, but could not cut into the deficit, and Jankunas hit two more jumpers to help increase the margin to 44-67 late in the third. Zalgiris took a 20-point lead into the final quarter, but Efes got hope with aggressive full-court pressure and Simon getting hot. Arturas Milaknis and Aaron White each hit a three-pointer to keep the hosts at bay, 67-81. Efes continued making shots, including a three and a floater from Simon that got the home team within 74-82 with 90 seconds to go, but Westermann drove for a layup to seal the outcome.

Game-changing run

The teams were trading blows for the first 16 minutes, and neither team had a lead larger than 5 points until Westermann's triple got Zalgiris going. Westermann scored 7 points, Kavaliauskas added a pair of baskets and assists for Brandon Davies who capped a 2-13 run to end the second quarter and go into the break up by 14 points. A strong start to the third saw Zalgiris increase the margin to 23 points, and there was no coming back for the hosts.

Key performers

Brandon Davies and Leo Westerman were key pieces in the Zalgiris victory, however important contributions also came from Paulius Jankunas, who scored 7 of his 11 points in the third quarter, and Nate Wolters, who finished the game with 9 points and 7 assists. For Efes, Vasilije Micic and Adrien Moerman scored 14 apiece, and Tibor Pleiss collected 12 points and 7 rebounds in defeat.

First impression

Six years after leaving Zalgiris as a teenager, Marius Grigonis has returned as a solid contributor for his EuroLeague debut season. The 24-year old swingman made some important plays in this contest, and finished with respectable line of 7 points without missing any of his three shots, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 assist in little less than 18 minutes on the floor.

Did you notice?

This is fourth consecutive road win for Zalgiris over Efes; the Lithuanian champion has now won in Istanbul by margins of 3, 13, 16 and 14 points. This is also the sixth time in the last seven games that a road team won the game between these two clubs.

Next game

The next round is in 48 hours. Zalgiris travels home to host Fenerbahce Istanbul in a rematch of last seasons' EuroLeague Final Four semifinal, and Efes goes on a trip to visit Khimki Moscow Region.

Brandon Davies - Zalgiris Kaunas - EB18
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Euroleague.net
Referees: PEREZ, MIGUEL ANGEL; ROCHA, FERNANDO; OBRKNEZEVIC, UROS
Attendance: 5549 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
Anadolu Efes Istanbul19131631
Zalgiris Kaunas19272225
End of Quarter1234
Anadolu Efes Istanbul19324879
Zalgiris Kaunas19466893
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 LARKIN, SHANE 18:31 3 1/3 0/1 1/2       2   1     1 4 3
1 BEAUBOIS, RODRIGUE 14:20   0/4 0/1         4         2 2 -1
4 BALBAY, DOGUS 21:12 8 1/4 2/3   2 2 4 3 1 2 1 1 3 1 8
6 BIRSEN, METECAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 MOTUM, BROCK 10:42 4 1/2 0/1 2/2   1 1     1   1 3 1 -1
15 SANLI, SERTAC DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
18 MOERMAN, ADRIEN 30:22 14 7/9 0/2   3 1 4 1 3 2     3 1 14
21 PLEISS, TIBOR 24:01 12 5/6   2/3 3 4 7   1 2 1   2 2 17
22 MICIC, VASILIJE 22:19 14 3/5 2/4 2/2       4   4     4 4 10
23 ANDERSON, JAMES 17:50 3 0/2 1/2   1 1 2     1 1 1 1 1 1
42 DUNSTON, BRYANT 14:47 4 2/3     2 1 3 2 1 2 1   4 1 5
44 SIMON, KRUNOSLAV 25:56 17 2/2 2/4 7/7   1 1 5         2 6 25
Team           1 2 3     1         2
Totals 200:00 79 22/40 7/18 14/16 12 13 25 21 6 16 4 3 25 23 83
        55% 38.9% 87.5%
Head coach: ATAMAN, ERGIN
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Zalgiris Kaunas
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 DAVIES, BRANDON 29:00 18 7/14   4/8 4 3 7 3   1 2 1 2 6 21
3 WOLTERS, NATE 24:22 9 4/8   1/2   1 1 7 2 1   2 2 4 13
7 WALKUP, THOMAS 11:25 7 2/2 1/2   1 1 2 1 3   1   4   9
8 SABECKIS, DONATAS 0:08                              
9 WESTERMANN, LEO 18:48 17 2/4 2/4 7/8       2 1 5     4 4 10
13 JANKUNAS, PAULIUS 19:25 11 3/5 1/2 2/2 2 3 5   1 2     1 2 13
17 BIRUTIS, LAURYNAS 4:52 3 1/1   1/1 1   1     1     4 1  
21 MILAKNIS, ARTURAS 27:30 6   2/4     1 1 1 3         1 10
30 WHITE, AARON 17:52 5 1/3 1/1   2 1 3         1 2 3 6
40 GRIGONIS, MARIUS 17:35 7 2/2 1/1   1 3 4 1 1 2     3 1 9
44 KAVALIAUSKAS, ANTANAS 8:06 4 2/2     1 2 3 2 1 1         9
92 ULANOVAS, EDGARAS 20:57 6 2/2   2/2       2   1     1 3 9
Team           1 1 2     1         1
Totals 200:00 93 26/43 8/14 17/23 13 16 29 19 12 15 3 4 23 25 110
        60.5% 57.1% 73.9%
Head coach: JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS

Head Coaches

ATAMAN, ERGIN
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
"I think that we lost the game in the second quarter. Our bench players came into the game, our defense went down and we lost our defensive intensity. And honestly, Zalgiris played great basketball in the second quarter. They always found correct shots and they made them, took all of offensive rebounds. We lost our concentration in that second quarter. In the last part of the game, we put energy and tried to recover, but of course it was not easy after we went down by 23 points. This is EuroLeague. If you don’t have enough intensity, you can lose the game. Congratulations to Zalgiris, they really played great basketball tonight."
JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS
Zalgiris Kaunas
"I am very happy to have the first win. It always takes away little bit of pressure from us. I believe the second and the third quarter we played very good and disciplined basketball. Everything that we talked about the game that we are supposed to do. Efes came back because we lost our heads a little bit again. When we control the game, when we go with the ball where we are supposed to, when we are disciplined, we looked pretty good today. But at some points of the game we lost our heads, and we suffered. This first win in the EuroLeague is always so important, and we have to build on this performance. I think overall, it was a good performance by our players. I don’t care how many three-pointers we shoot. If players are open, they can shoot 50. It is all about getting good shots, and working for a good shot. But it helps if you hit them, for sure."

Players

DAVIES, BRANDON
Zalgiris Kaunas
"It is a big-time win and an important win for our team. Not only to get back on the winning track but to show we are getting better. We had a big week coming up, now we have to focus on those games. We are happy to come in here and get a win on the road."
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