By beating Monaco, the Lithuanian improved to a league-best 6-1 record
Alen Smailagic came up clutch to send Zalgiris top of the standings
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Fans of Zalgiris Kaunas will have a big smile on their faces heading into this weekend after what they saw their team do this week.
After beating Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade on a last-second shot by Bryant Dunston on Wednesday, Zalgiris downed AS Monaco on Friday night to move into first place in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings.
Alen Smailagic ended up having a telling role in the closing stages of his team's 63-62 win over Monaco, which improved the Lithuanian side to a 6-1 record on an off night for star guard Sylvain Francisco.
Monaco did a great job at stopping Francisco, who averaged 13.5 points, 5.8 assists, 6.0 fouls drawn and a PIR of 17.2 coming into Round 7. Coach Sasa Obradovic found a way to stop him as the Frenchman finished the game with 1 point on 0-of-9 shooting and more turnovers (6) than assists (4) for a PIR of -6.
The visitors rallied from a 13-point deficit to tie the game, 43-43, after 30 minutes, with Zalgiris in desperate need of a go-to guy. Up stepped Smailagic, who had played just 4 minutes to that point. Yet, the Serbian provided the answers his team needed to win the game.
Smailagic scored all of his 10 points in the fourth quarter. He buried a three-pointer on Zalgiris's first offensive set in the period before burying another one soon after to put Zalgiris in charge, 52-47. He then added a dunk in traffic and a layup that gave Zalgiris a 61-60 edge. Jordan Loyd scored at the other end, but Dovydas Giedraitis stepped up with the go-ahead layup. Mike James turned the ball over in the final seconds, and that's when a sellout crowd at Zalgirio Arena erupted in joy.
"Probably it wasn't about tactics anymore because we were doing a lot of mistakes, mental mistakes, but we just kept fighting, that's it," Zalgiris forward Arnas Butkevicius said after the game. "It was probably a little bit of luck and a tough fight. We lost a lot of balls in the second half, a lot of mistakes and they were also scoring crazy shots. We are working hard and when you work hard, luck is on your side."
As in every physical game, Butkevicius stood out and played a critical role, too, leading Zalgiris with 13 points on 3-of-4 triples, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. On a night in which Francisco was off-target and Dunston left the game with an injury, Butkevicius provided the experience and leadership required.
Zalgiris ended up outrebounding Monaco 34-27 and limiting the guests to just 2-of-19 three-pointers (10.3%). It is Monaco's all-time low in three-point shots made and percentage in the competition. Monaco were limited to 25 points in the first half, also its lowest mark ever. Its previous low were 26 points in a 71-54 playoff loss against Olympiacos Piraeus in 2022. Smailagic believes his team's mentality make the difference.
"We always say, 'Keep them under 70'. We had to have a good game to have a good defense," Smailagic said. "We just stuck to the plan, we were just having a dogfight. Every minute we were fighting, we were in the game. Even when they were scoring, we were still sticking together.
"Even when stuff were not going our way, we were still being together, playing for each other, trying to pass the ball. Even after some loose balls, we were still staying together, still motivating all of our players to get better, to stay together and to try to win the game, as we did.
Being atop the standings is also a new situation for most Zalgiris players, including him.
"This is the first time for me to be at first place in the EuroLeague, so it feels good," he added. "But now, teams are going to be more focused, they are going to be ready for us. They know that we are a good team, maybe not on paper, but all of us are great people, great players, and we are going to stick together.
"And we have a hell of a good coach to who put us all together and showed us the way we should fight for each other and to play for each other."