Zalgiris Kaunas, CSKA Moscow and Panathinaikos win – Euroleague Group B Seventh week Review - Part 1
During the seventh week of the Turkish Airlines Euro league, three games took place in Group B. Here is a brief review;
Zalgiris Kaunas 67 – Unicaja 65
Zalgiris Kaunas snapped their two-game losing streak with a 67-65 victory over Unicaja on November 30, 2011 at Zalgirio Arena.
Sonny Weems paced Kaunas with a double-double, adding a game-high 18 points and 11 rebounds in more than 30 minutes of action. Marko Popovic racked up 11 points while Ty Lawson came off the bench with 10 points for Zalgiris, who
improved to 2-5 in Group B and rejoined the Top 16 race of Euroleague regular season.
Unicaja’s Gerald Fitch came off the bench with a team-high 15 points on 6 for 8 shooting from free throw line, grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists. Kristaps Valters and Joel Freeland posted 12 points each while Luka
Zoric ended with 11 points in the third straight victory for Unicaja.
Zalgiris finished with 43.1 percent (19 for 44) from two-point range while Unicaja shot just 35.4 percent (17 for 48).
Kaunas opened the first quarter on a 10-0 run – capped by Weems and Paulius Jankunas – and held a 19-11 lead after 10 minutes of action.
"We lost this game in the opening quarter and the last minutes. Initially, we defended very soft and allowed Zalgiris to get ahead,” Unicaja head coach Chus Mateo said.
Zalgiris pushed their lead to double figures with the very first shot of the second quarter but Unicaja bounce back in the next few minutes to trim the margin to five, 27-22. Zalgiris then reeled off an 8-0 run for a 35-22 lead
before Luka Zoric dunked in the last minute to make it 35-24 at halftime.
Unicaja increased their intensity in the third period and trimmed Zalgiris’ lead to five, 55-50, early in the quarter. Popovic hit a three-pointer and Weems followed him with a shot from two-point range to push their lead back
to double-digit, 60-50. Unicaja then went on a 9-0 run to make it one-point contest, 60-59, with three minutes remaining. Popovic shined with another shot from downtown to put the Kaunas ahead by 63-59 but Unicaja scored the next six points of the game for
a 65-63 lead. Popovic hit a pair of free throws and Weems dunked in the closing minute to seal a hard-fought victory.
CSKA Moscow 81 - Brose Baskets 78
Former MVP Milos Teodosic hit a three-pointer at the buzzer as CSKA Moscow remained unbeaten in the group with an 81-78 victory over Brose Baskets on November 30 at Stechert Arena. Baskets meanwhile, dropped to 2-5 with second
consecutive defeat.
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