Zalgiris Kaunas remains alive in playoff race after sweeping series vs Crvena Zvezda

Zalgiris Kaunas maintained a playoff push in the EuroLeague, after its 75-62 win over Crvena Zvezda at home on Tuesday night.

In a EuroLeague Round 24 makeup game, the Lithuanians came back from a 13-point deficit to defeat the Serbians.

Zalgiris trailed by 13 in the first half (22-35), thanks to a 0-12 run of Zvezda. However, the hosts reacted and took the lead at the end of the third quarter (60-58).

An 8-0 run in the fourth quarter was enough for Zalgiris to take control and seal the deal.

The visitors never recovered and saw the Lithuanians outscore them 15-4 in the last 10 minutes of the game.

Zalgiris improved to 14-11 and is ninth in the standings, just outside the playoff zone.

On the other hand, Zvezda remained next to the bottom of the standings with a 7-18 record.

The Serbians were forced to play the game without five players, due to injuries and Covid-19 cases.

Langston Hall, Duop Reath, Landry Nnoko and Quino Colom were not available for the contest.

Meanwhile, recently recovered guard Corey Walden was with the team, but didn’t get off the bench.

Furthermore, the Serbian club parted ways with Johnny O’Bryant (second-best scorer and top rebounder) earlier in the week.

“They’re in an unfortunate situation; they don’t have their full roster, playing with seven or eight guys.

So, we used that to our advantage. We did a good job of wearing them down, and I think you saw it in the fourth quarter. They were a little gassed.

It’s unfortunate the situation they are in, but in EuroLeague you have to take every win you can,” Zalgiris forward Nigel Hayes told reporters about Zvezda, via EuroLeague.net.

Both teams will play another EuroLeague game this week. Zalgiris will face Real Madrid at Wizink Center on Thursday.

On the other hand, Crvena Zvezda will battle Baskonia at the Fernando Buesa Arena on Friday.