Zalgiris Beat Partizan 87-80, Hit 5 of 23 Threes
Partizan closed a 14-2 run to trail 77-73 in Kaunas, but made only five of 23 threes. Djoan Penjaroja is proud of his team, while the table reads 4-5.
With four minutes left and Partizan down four, Ethan Thompson was not exactly contested and missed a shot from 6.75 meters. According to TV Arena sport, that was the last time Partizan seriously threatened the hosts in Kaunas. Zalgiris held on and won 87-80 in EuroLeague Round 9 on Friday, October 30.
Partizan coach Djoan Penjaroja sees that moment through two misses. After the game he said Partizan had a chance at the end to turn the game into a real thriller, but that they “missed two open shots” and the win went to the team from Kaunas.
How did Zalgiris get out to 19-9 early?
Penjaroja started Carlik Jones, Antonio Reeves, Thompson, Nikola Tanaskovic and Joffrey Lauvergne, while Tomas Masiulis chose a big lineup on the other side with Jonas Valanciunas. Zalgiris punished the rotations of Partizan’s defense, opening with three straight threes, and Azuolas Tubelis hit two open threes to make it 19-9. The hosts finished the first quarter ahead 27-21.
Partizan came back to 34-34, but went into halftime trailing 40-44. In those 20 minutes the black-and-whites shot 1 of 11 from three, and the only make came from Thompson. After the three straight makes early on, Zalgiris hit just one more three before the break, missing ten.
The third quarter started badly: Zalgiris went up 53-43, then 60-49, and midway through the final quarter led 75-59, a 16-point cushion.
What did Partizan do in the last ten minutes?
A 14-2 run followed to make it 77-73, after which Masiulis called a timeout. Partizan was left to capitalize on the fact that Zalgiris went eight minutes of the final quarter without a field goal. It did not manage to: Jones took an early-offense midrange shot over a hand and drew a foul, and after an offensive rebound by Evans, Valanciunas went to the free throw line.
Partizan stole the ball six times from Zalgiris, but never turned one of those into a fast break, B92 writes.
Who scored what?
For Partizan, Tanaskovic had 19 points on 8 of 16 shooting with five rebounds in 29 minutes. Thompson added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists on 5 of 12, and Luka Vildoza had 14 points on 5 of 9, 11 of them in the first half. Jones handed out seven assists but shot 3 of 14. Kevarrius Hayes scored eight points in 16 minutes, with four personal fouls.
For Zalgiris, Carsen Edwards scored 17 points, Valanciunas 16 and Tubelis 11.
What does the coach say, and what do the shooting numbers show?
After the game, as reported by Sport klub, Penjaroja said:
I am proud of my team. It is not easy to fight for all 40 minutes in an atmosphere like this, against a team of this quality. We were down double digits, we had a lot of problems on offense, a lot of mistakes, but we did not give up. We fought to the end, and at the end we had a chance to turn the game into a real thriller, but we missed two open shots and the win went to the team from Kaunas. We move on, the fight continues.
He added for B92: “We played with very poor percentages and it is not easy to play and fight with that for 40 minutes.” He also looked back at the starts of the quarters: “The opening minutes of the first and third quarters were bad, but I am happy and proud of the team.”
The shooting is still the same story as before. TV Arena sport calculates that Partizan makes 30.4 percent of its threes in the EuroLeague, which ranks 18th, and with 62 made threes the team is last in that category. Tanaskovic, who scored 19 points against Zalgiris, has not made a single three in nine games, going 0 for 8. The same source notes that Penjaroja’s wins came with decent shooting: 11 of 24 against Olimpija, 8 of 19 against Paris and 9 of 27 against Bayern.
What does it mean for the table?
This is the black-and-whites’ second straight loss in a double round, after the 75-82 defeat at Asvel in Lyon in Round 8. We covered that game: Partizan let an 11-point lead slip in Villeurbanne. Last season Zalgiris beat Partizan 109-68 in the same arena, so this time the gap was seven points.
Partizan is now 12th at 4-5, while Zalgiris is tenth at 5-4 with its third straight win. In Round 10, Partizan hosts Maccabi in Belgrade, while Zalgiris travels to Besiktas.
