The 29-year-old forward, who returned to action last week, reminded his team just how much it has missed him.
Rasheed Sulaimon's heroics lifted Wolves, kept playoff hopes alive
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Wolves Vilnius kept their BKT EuroCup playoff hopes alive on Tuesday night, pulling out a 91-89 win over the winless Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana. That victory ended the team's six-game losing streak and also reminded fans of the quality of Rasheed Sulaimon.
The 29-year-old forward returned to action last week after being sidelined since Round 6. In his first five appearances of the season, Sulaimon averaged 20.2 points. Since his return, he has been proving how much he was missed.
Unstoppable Sulaimon
Last week against Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv, he scored 20 points in vain as his team fell to another defeat. On Tuesday night, however, Sulaimon not only scored 23 points but also made plays down the stretch to secure an important win for the Wolves.
"Through the whole game, we just could not stop Sulaimon", Cedevita head coach Zoran Martic admitted. "He was hurting us throughout the game."
Sulaimon was 4-of-10 on two-pointers and 5-of-8 from downtown, while he also had 3 assists and 2 rebounds. After scoring 12 in the first half, Sulaimon scored 8 points in the final 6 minutes of the game.
He first knocked down a three-pointer to restore the Wolves' lead, 75-74. His fifth triple came with 1:20 to go, again turning a 1-point deficit into the hosts' lead, 89-87. Finally, Sulaimon scored what turned out to be a game-winning basket, a shake-and-bake drive against Karlo Matkovic and a difficult layup off the glass to make it 91-89.
No team scored in the remainder of the contest as the Wolves prevailed.
"We made few really crucial stops [and we won] because of our energy, because of our concentration and because of Rasheed's big plays", Wolves head coach Kestutis Kemzura stated after the win. "He hit big threes at the end and made big plays."
Sulaimon's performance, coupled with the all-round game of Jeffrey Taylor, who had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, improved the Wolves to a 5-9 record. The last place that reaches the playoffs from Group A is currently occupied by Prometey Slobozhanske (7-6).
"We will fight until the end, no matter what. We have to fight, we have to lay it out on the court every game", Kemzura concluded.