The offensive
machine of Lietuvos Rytas took no pity in a 106-65 (26-27, 34-12, 27-15, 19-11)
destruction of city rivals Sakalai in the Lithuanian League (LKL) on Thursday
evening in the Vilnius derby.
The
high-scoring affair started off rather unexpectedly, as Sakalai got into an
early 21-16 lead with three minutes left in the first quarter.
However,
Lietuvos Rytas raced into a double-figure lead, beginning the second period
with an 18-0 run and keeping the visitors scoreless for more than half of the
quarter.
Three
consecutive dunks by Jonas Valanciunas increased the distance between the teams
to 29 points in the third quarter, as Lietuvos Rytas cruised to an easy victory
in the second half.
Jonas
Valanciunas led the victors with 19 points and six rebounds, Renaldas Seibutis
scored 17, while Tyrese Rice chipped in with 15 points.
Aleksandar
Rasic scored 11 points and dished out five assists and the Macedonian big man
Predrag Samardziski added nine points, five rebounds, four blocked shots and
drew seven fouls on the way to a ranking of 25.
For Sakalai, who played only with nine players, Laurynas Samenas scored 20 points, Evaldas Baniulis had 12 points and five rebounds, while Arvydas Gydra scored nine points.
