Wolves' defense stood strong against Trento’s biggest weapons
Wolves slowed Trento's stars and surprised with triples, rebounding
Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius did a great job shutting down Dolomiti Energia Trento’s two biggest stars and also excelled in two areas where it has struggled all season to roll to a critical victory on Tuesday.
Wolves held Trento’s Jordan Ford and Anthony Lamb to a combined 13 points while shooting a club record 61.9% on three-pointers and dominating the glass at Trento for a 70-96 win to keep its playoffs destiny in its own hands.
Ford came into the game leading the team in scoring at 16.5 points but was limited to just 9 points on 5 field goal attempts. Lamb meanwhile managed just a season-low 4 points on 1-of-6 shooting after coming into the game averaging 14.3 points per game.
“We showed the desire, will and physicality. We were able to disarm their best scorers. It was a great team performance,” said Wolves coach Alessandro Magro.
Wolves drained 13 of 21 three-pointers as it drastically bested its previous three-point benchmark of 52.8% - 19 of 36 - in Round 11 against Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv. Alessandro Magro’s team came into the game shooting only 32.7% from long range - ranking 14th in the EuroCup.
Wolves was however able to take advantage of a Trento team that has struggled all year stopping its opponent’s three-point game, allowing them to shoot 38.1% on triples - the worst ranking in the league.
Four Wolves players drained multiple three-pointers with Matas Jogela hitting 4 of 6 and Anthony Cowan knocking down 3 of 5.
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The other unusual area of dominance for Wolves was rebounding. The Lithuanian side ranked 14th in total rebounding and Trento was 11th in the league. Still, Wolves showed its greater desire in grabbing 41 rebounds to 22 for the home side.
Wolves was particularly strong on its defensive glass, limiting Trento to just 5 offensive rebounds. That was actually one area the team had been solid all season though, giving up just 10.4 boards on that side of the court per game - ranked fifth.
All in all, Wolves put together a strong team performance and is now knocking on the door of the playoffs.