Marius Grigonis’ game-winner keeps Zalgiris Kaunas in the EuroLeague playoff zone
Marius Grigonis hit the game-winner against Valencia and kept Zalgiris Kaunas within the playoff zone in the EuroLeague.
Zalgiris led by seven with 43 seconds to go in the contest (70-77). Yet, Valencia went on an 8-0 run and took the lead, with 3.3 seconds left.
After a Zalgiris timeout, Grigonis hit the jumper at the buzzer and handed the Lithuanians the victory (78-79).
Zalgiris earned its eighth win in the last 10 EuroLeague games and improved to 13-9. The visitors now are sixth in the standings.
On the other hand, Valencia dropped to 11-11 and has won only once in the last six EuroLeague games.
In Berlin, CSKA Moscow survived a late thriller against ALBA and remained on top of the standings.
The Muscovites outscored their opponents 12-19 in the fourth quarter and earned a big road win (68-71).
CSKA improved to 16-6 and is tied with Barcelona on top of the EuroLeague table.
On the other hand, ALBA is close to the bottom of the league, with an 8-14 record.
CSKA played without its top scorer Mike James, who did not travel with the team to Germany after a club decision.
Real Madrid endured the comeback of Panathinaikos and secured another home win in the EuroLeague.
The “Whites” led by more than 20 points in the first half, but saw the “Greens” turn things around later in the game.
The six-time EuroLeague champions came as close as five points (66-61), but Real stood tall and went on a 10-5 run to seal the deal (76-66).
Real maintained a top four push and climbed to 14-8. On the contrary, Panathinaikos dropped to 16th in the EuroLeague standings, at 7-14.
ASVEL Villeurbanne came back from a double-digit deficit and edged Baskonia at home (83-77).
The Basques led by 14 (20-34) and 11 (35-46) points, respectively, but the French took over in the second half.
ASVEL conceded just seven points in the third quarter and outscored their opponents 23-7 to take control.
Baskonia never recovered after that and dropped to 9-13 on the EuroLeaue table.
Meanwhile, ASVEL claimed another home win and now is at 8-14.