Zalgiris Kaunas extended their winning streak in the VTB United League to 11 after defeating CEZ Nymburk 90–84 (23-17, 21-22, 27-23, 19-22).
The victory pushed Zalgiris’ record to 15-1 and guaranteed the first seed in Group B for the Lithuanians. CEZ are seventh with five victories and ten losses.
Zalgiris managed to tally a nine point lead with a minute remaining in the first quarter. However, after a 7-0 run in the midst of the second quarter, CEZ cut the lead to a single point.
The teams traded runs and were separated by only three points with half of a quarter left, but then Oliver Lafayette took over, scoring 9 points in the four final minutes, sealing the victory.
Oliver Lafayette was the top-scorer for Zalgiris, as he scored 15 points. The Lithuanians also received a double-digit scoring outcome from six other players, as Donald McGrath, Marko Popovic, Darjus Lavrinovic, Rimantas Kaukenas, Ksistof Lavrinovic and Mindaugas Kuzminskas all scored 10 points each.
Radoslav Rancik had a game-high 20 points for CEZ. Demond Carter contributed 15, while Pavel Houska and Vojtech Hruban ended the game with 12 points. Jiri Welsch was near a double-double with 11 points and 9 assists.
