By Cesare Milanti/ info@eurohoops.net
After winning against Virtus Bologna in Round 18, Zalgiris Kaunas can go back home with back-to-back victories against Italian teams. The Lithuanians got the 66-61 win on the road against Milan.
Kevarrius Hayes tied his EuroLeague scoring career high. The former Bursaspor center had 16 points and 7 rebounds, shooting 6/6 at the line in the matchup against Brandon Davies and Kyle Hines.
Rolands Smith ended the game in double digits for the third time in the last four games, as he scored 13 points with 3/6 from beyond the three-point line. Edgaras Ulanovas added 13 points and 8 rebounds.
“We won against a big name. We controlled the game for almost three quarters and lost control both defensively and offensively late. It almost cost us the win, but I’m happy the team showed good character”, Kazys Maksvytis said after the win.
Facing his former team, Brandon Davies scored 8 points struggling inside the area (2/6). Billy Baron and Devon Hall followed respectively with 11 and 9 points.
Starting from the bench, Stefano Tonut had a good impact on the Italian team. The former Reyer Venice shooting guard tied his best scoring performance in the EuroLeague with 8 points.
“Zalgiris played another good game, they are an extremely solid team with Final Four level. They are playing really solid on both defense and offense. I’m very happy for the comeback the team had in the fourth quarter, I go home with a lot of positive sights from Stefano Tonut, who finally broke the ice”, Ettore Messina said in the post-game press conference.
Ahead since the beginning, Zalgiris Kaunas kept control of the game for almost the whole game. In the fourth quarter, Milan produced a 21-7 run but Edgaras Ulanovas scored the decisive dagger with 00:27 left.
Ettore Messina didn’t have Shavon Shields, who won’t return before February, Luigi Datome who has not played since Round 6, Tommaso Baldasso, who suffered a broken hand, and Kevin Pangos, who has been out with a knee injury since Round 10.
Kazys Maksvytis, instead, didn’t have Tyler Cavanaugh and Liutauras Lelevicius, other than Keenan Evans, who will miss the rest of the season after suffering an Achilles injury.
In Round 20, both Milan (6-13) and Zalgiris Kaunas (11-8) will play at home. The former on January 20 at 20:30 hosting ASVEL Villeurbanne, the latter on the same day but at 19:00 CET facing Crvena Zvezda.
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague