The hosts led 26-7 after 10 minutes
Zalgiris’ complete first-quarter display led the way against Maccabi
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 5 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Zalgiris Kaunas took to the Zalgirio Arena court on Thursday evening exactly as you would expect a team coming off two straight road wins - including the second-biggest comeback victory in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague history at EA7 Emporio Armani Milan - to start off a big home-court clash.
“We understood that we had to come out and play aggressive, because it’s our home court and the games we won on the road don’t mean anything unless we win at home,” Bryant Dunston explained to EuroLeague TV after the game.
Game Videos
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Paris Basketball-Zalgiris Kaunas | RS Round 9 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/AvLmSc__1do/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 9 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:10
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Great dunk on the alley-oop by Sorkin! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/6ba17594-c852-416a-9cdd-d187cec4b294.jpg]()
Virtus Segafredo Bologna-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 8 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:13
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Gabriel with a audacious alley-oop! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
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Monster dunk by Rivero! Motorola Magic Moment
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FC Bayern Munich-Zalgiris Kaunas | RS Round 8 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 01:09
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Arnas Butkevicius: 'When you work hard, luck is on your side'
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Zalgiris Kaunas-AS Monaco | RS Round 7 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:12
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Smailagic rocks the rim! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:25
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Ulanovas beats the buzzer! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:16
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Birutis dunks in traffic! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:46
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Oded Kattash: ‘We showed character again’
- 00:26
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Saben Lee: ‘I just tried to keep fighting’
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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv-Real Madrid | RS Round 7 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:32
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Lee wins it! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 00:40
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Dunston wins it! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 01:06
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Bryant Dunston: 'Luckily it went in'
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Zalgiris Kaunas-Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade | RS Round 6 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:12
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Francisco to Birutis for the dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
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Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 6 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:10
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What a fine alley-oop from Jaylen Hoard! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:49
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Edgaras Ulanovas dedicates win to late grandfather
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Zalgiris Kaunas-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 5 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:14
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Sorkin didn’t see Dunston coming! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:15
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Lee left Francisco on his backside before finishing! Motorola Magic Moment
- 01:40
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Andrea Trinchieri: 'I believe in my players and this is the reward'
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EA7 Emporio Armani Milan-Zalgiris Kaunas | RS Round 4 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 4 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:11
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Francisco and Birutis at it again! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
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Birutis hammers it home with a two-handed slam! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:14
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Dunston with a fine dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
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Valencia Basket-Umana Reyer Venice | Round 4 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:14
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Montero denies Moretti! Magic Moment
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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv-Anadolu Efes Istanbul | RS Round 3 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:36
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Saben Lee announces himself to the EuroLeague! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 01:39
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Andrea Trinchieri: 'We won the game five times and we lost the game four times'
- 00:46
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Saben Lee: 'This court has definitely shown me love'
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Virtus Segafredo Bologna-Zalgiris Kaunas | RS Round 3 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:22
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Saben Lee announces himself to the EuroLeague! Motorola Magic Moment
- 03:28
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Zalgiris Kaunas | RS Round 2 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:12
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Big dunk by Birutis! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:22
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Improbable volleyball buzzer-beater by Rivero! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 03:31
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AS Monaco-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 2 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:19
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Improbable volleyball buzzer-beater by Rivero! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:16
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Blatt's vision sends Hoard dunking! Motorola Magic Moment
- 01:04
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Tamir Blatt | RS Round 1 MVP | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 03:55
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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv-LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne| RS Round 1 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:31
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Tamir Blatt: 'We are moving forward from here'
- 00:14
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Hoard hammers home the alley-oop! Motorola Magic Moment
The hosts hit the ground running, demonstrating why they came into the duel as EuroLeague’s stingiest defense with an average of 72.8 conceded points per game. Zalgiris kept the competition’s sixth-best offense (85.0 ppg) to just 7 points by producing an extraordinary defensive display in the first quarter. This was Maccabi’s lowest point tally in a quarter in the last 18 months. In fact, the last time a team held them to just 7 points was April 6, 2023, against the same opponent at the same arena with the same outcome (68-67).
Zalgiris took a 26-7 lead into the second quarter and maintained it at 44-24 after 20 minutes. Having rallied back from 64-37 down midway through the third quarter to win 82-85 last week in Milan, Zalgiris’ players were aware that the game against Maccabi was anything but over.
“We had a big lead at halftime,” Dunston added. “We understood that, because we came back from a big lead in the last game, they’re not going to give up. No one in the EuroLeague gives up and keeps fighting. So, it was important for us to control the game the rest of the way.”
Maccabi showed character and fought back after the break, with Saben Lee bringing them within 65-55 with 6:01 left on the clock. Yet, the undermanned Israeli side, which missed Tamir Blatt, Rokas Jokubaitis and Wenyen Gabriel due to injuries, didn’t manage to step things up a gear. Zalgiris tightened up its defense and kept Maccabi to just 1 point in the last 3:37 minutes to put the game to bed.
This was Zalgiris’s fourth win in five games so far, with the Lithuanian side conceding more than 68 points in just one of their victories. A two-round week is coming up next, with Zalgiris hosting Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade and AS Monaco. And, should head coach Andrea Trinchieri’s side perform at the same level on defense next week, they could well extend their winning streak to five games and remain in the upper part of the standings.