Zalgiris downs undermanned Zvezda
In a replay of their rescheduled Round 24 game, Zalgiris Kaunas saved an essential home win by outlasting undermanned Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 75-62 on Tuesday. Zalgiris lifted its record to 14-11 as it straddles the eighth and final playoff spot while Zvezda fell to 7-17 with its sixth consecutive defeat, ever further from the same goal. It was a tale of two halves. A 0-12 run bridging the first two quarters gave Zvezda control of the scoreboard and an eventual 22-35 lead. Zalgiris inched its way back until a 10-0 run midway through the third quarter put the hosts up 55-50, a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way. The Zalgiris defense held Zvezda to 18 second-half points, just 4 in the final quarter. Marius Grigonis led the winners with 17 points, while Nigel Hayes added 16 and Augustine Rubit 15. Zvezda got 16 apiece from Jordan Loyd and Marko Simonovic.