Marcus Brown proved his real value when it really mattered, as the veteran’s clutch performance decided the outcome of the first game of the Lithuanian League (LKL) finals series, which began with Zalgiris taking an 83-81 (23-23, 16-18, 22-22, 22-18) victory over major rivals Lietuvos Rytas at home in Kaunas.
Brown spun past his defender scoring for the second time in consecutive possessions to negate Milko Bjelica’s long-range triple and gave Zalgiris a two point cushion with just over four seconds on the clock. Lietuvos Ryas failed to execute a proper inbound play and the ball ended up in Bjelica’s hands near the half-court line. The Montenegrin managed to launch a desperation triple towards the basket, but it fell far of the mark.
“The players showed character and demonstrated that we’re a mature team. We played really bad, but still managed to win,” Ilias Zouros, the coach of Zalgiris said, adding: “I would like to see the tape of the game, but it is really difficult to believe how our players got into such foul troubles. We played good defense and referees should be equal to both sides.”
Zalgiris was led by Brown, who scored a total of 15 points in addition to making two clutch shots for the Greens. Tadas Klimavicius had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, DeJuan Collins scored 12 while Mantas Kalnietis added 11 points.
Darryl Strawberry’s great performance late in the game brought the visitors back into the game. The American guard did not miss a shot and collected a team-high 17 points.
“Maybe not everyone expected the series to begin the way it did. I’m proud of my men, they played well and showed that they can fight with Zalgiris even in Kaunas. There are still a lot of corrections to be made. It’s not possible to win a game giving up 20 offensive rebounds. That was our main flaw today,” Darius Maskoliunas, the coach of Lietuvos Rytas commented after the game.
Milko Bjelica had 16 points and Kenan Bajramovic finished the game with 15, but it was mostly the hesitance and lack of fighting spirit from these big men that allowed Zalgiris to win the battle under the boards 44-28.
Brown spun past his defender scoring for the second time in consecutive possessions to negate Milko Bjelica’s long-range triple and gave Zalgiris a two point cushion with just over four seconds on the clock. Lietuvos Ryas failed to execute a proper inbound play and the ball ended up in Bjelica’s hands near the half-court line. The Montenegrin managed to launch a desperation triple towards the basket, but it fell far of the mark.“The players showed character and demonstrated that we’re a mature team. We played really bad, but still managed to win,” Ilias Zouros, the coach of Zalgiris said, adding: “I would like to see the tape of the game, but it is really difficult to believe how our players got into such foul troubles. We played good defense and referees should be equal to both sides.”
Zalgiris was led by Brown, who scored a total of 15 points in addition to making two clutch shots for the Greens. Tadas Klimavicius had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, DeJuan Collins scored 12 while Mantas Kalnietis added 11 points.
Darryl Strawberry’s great performance late in the game brought the visitors back into the game. The American guard did not miss a shot and collected a team-high 17 points.
“Maybe not everyone expected the series to begin the way it did. I’m proud of my men, they played well and showed that they can fight with Zalgiris even in Kaunas. There are still a lot of corrections to be made. It’s not possible to win a game giving up 20 offensive rebounds. That was our main flaw today,” Darius Maskoliunas, the coach of Lietuvos Rytas commented after the game.
Milko Bjelica had 16 points and Kenan Bajramovic finished the game with 15, but it was mostly the hesitance and lack of fighting spirit from these big men that allowed Zalgiris to win the battle under the boards 44-28.
Martynas Gecevicius ended the game scoring 13 points and Brad Newley added 12, most of which came in the beginning of the game after the Australian brought real energy off the bench.
The series will be moving to Vilnius for game two on Monday, where Lietuvos Rytas will try to equal the series before another attempt to take away Zalgiris’ home court advantage in the next game, while a win for Zalgiris would probably give them an insurmountable lead and probably seal them the title.
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