Loko takes charge at Zalgiris’s expense 27 may 2013
VTB United League
Lokomotiv-Kuban (Russia) overcame Zalgiris (Lithuania) at home, 82-72, in Game 3 of their VTB United League Playoffs semifinal series. The first half was close, but Krasnodar appeared fresher in the second half, kept the tempo high and ran by Zalgiris for its second straight win.
Intro
The two teams were tied, 1-1, in the best-of-five semifinals, lending Game 3 enormous significance. That made the pace of the game in the first quarter all the more surprising. Neither team was afraid to gamble, running fast breaks, whipping the ball around the perimeter and shooting at a high percentage from beyond the arc. The Railwaymen held a two-point lead after the first period, 23-21, helped by Simas Jasaitis’s red-hot hand on the perimeter.
Zalgiris coach Joan Plaza prefers quick, aggressive basketball. At some point, Kaunas turned on the afterburners and pushed the pace to a ridiculous level, while pressing the home team on defense. The tactic worked: Krasnodar, in control up to that point, overestimated its ability to match Zalgiris’s tempo and began to turn the ball over much too frequently.
Ksistof Lavrinovic, meanwhile, helped turn Lokomotiv’s six-point lead early in the second quarter into an eight-point Zalgiris advantage, 37-29, with 5:25 to play in the half.
The home team regained the momentum at the very end of the half. Richard Hendrix was sharp in the paint, while Nick Calathes drained a 3-pointer with five seconds to go that cut the deficit to two, 44-42.
In the third quarter, players on both teams grew more cautious. Ironically, neither squad had much success to start the half, as the only points in the first 3:18 went to Aleks Maric (1) and Marko Popovic (2).
Eventually, the scoring returned and Loko got the better end of it. Calathes tied the game at 48-all on a 3-pointer, while Valery Likhodei came up with an impressive block on Mindaugas Kuzminskas. A few minutes later, Calathes’s alley-oop pass was jammed home by a soaring Derrick Brown. Zalgiris hung on for most of the period, but Likhodei’s 3-pointer in the final minute, followed by a Hendrix steal and Brown jumper put the home team ahead by five points, 59-54, with 10 minutes to play.
Turning Point
Lokomotiv quickly grew its lead to nine points in the fourth quarter, 64-55, its largest lead yet in the game. Zalgiris battled to get back in the game, but the best it could do was tread water with the efficient Lokomotiv offense, cheered on by the home crowd. Calathes played the biggest role in the decisive quarter and Kuban ultimately coasted in with a 10-point win, 82-72, and valuable 2-1 lead in the series, just one victory shy of the finals.
Star of the Game
Nick Calathes. The Greek-American playmaker was sharp running Lokomotiv’s offense, adding seven points of his own in the fourth quarter to record an impressive double-double (20 points, 12 assists). Nick was just one assist shy of the season record.
Stat of the Game
4. Calathes went 4-7 from beyond the arc (57.1%), well above his season average (he made four 3-pointers for the first time this season). For comparison – Zalgiris as a team converted just seven 3-pointers.
Quotes
Lokomotiv-Kuban head coach Evgeny Pashutin:
— We played with character today, but the playoffs are the playoffs — the effect of the quick turnaround between games could be seen in the first two quarters. We started to defend better in the third quarter, like we did the entire season. Plus, our balanced offense was there — we were able to hit difficult shots in the final seconds, we were careful and didn't take rushed shots, thus controlling the game.
It's not easy to defend against this team — Zalgiris has several excellent shooters, who played well in the Euroleague. The series continues and we understand that defense is our foundation. It's important for us to recover in time for the next game and play our best.
Zalgiris head coach Joan Plaza:
— First of all, I'd like to say that both semifinal series are pretty unpredictable. In one individual game, any team can win. I, for my part, have already drawn several conclusions from those games already played — we have made mistakes on defense, plus Lokomotiv is playing fairly athletically and very rough against us. Krasnodar is also hitting a number of difficult shots at the end of possessions. Calathes, Brown, Jasaitis are able to do it with regularity. In those situations, it's difficult to fault the defense, but it makes things very difficult.
Top Performers
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Nick Calathes – 20 points, 12 assists; Simas Jasaitis – 18 points; Derrick Brown – 14 points; Valery Likhodei – 12 points; Mantas Kalnietis – six points, nine assists.
Zalgiris: Ksistof Lavrinovic – 24 points, seven rebounds; Oliver Lafayette – nine points, seven assists; Marko Popovic – eight points.
To Be Continued…
Game 4 in the Zalgiris – Lokomotiv-Kuban series will be played on Tuesday, May 28 in Krasnodar. The game tips off at 7:00 pm local time. You can watch live on Rossiya 2, Sport (Lithuania), Lietuvos Rytas TV (Lithuania) and VTB-League.com.
The two teams were tied, 1-1, in the best-of-five semifinals, lending Game 3 enormous significance. That made the pace of the game in the first quarter all the more surprising. Neither team was afraid to gamble, running fast breaks, whipping the ball around the perimeter and shooting at a high percentage from beyond the arc. The Railwaymen held a two-point lead after the first period, 23-21, helped by Simas Jasaitis’s red-hot hand on the perimeter.
Zalgiris coach Joan Plaza prefers quick, aggressive basketball. At some point, Kaunas turned on the afterburners and pushed the pace to a ridiculous level, while pressing the home team on defense. The tactic worked: Krasnodar, in control up to that point, overestimated its ability to match Zalgiris’s tempo and began to turn the ball over much too frequently.
Ksistof Lavrinovic, meanwhile, helped turn Lokomotiv’s six-point lead early in the second quarter into an eight-point Zalgiris advantage, 37-29, with 5:25 to play in the half.
The home team regained the momentum at the very end of the half. Richard Hendrix was sharp in the paint, while Nick Calathes drained a 3-pointer with five seconds to go that cut the deficit to two, 44-42.
In the third quarter, players on both teams grew more cautious. Ironically, neither squad had much success to start the half, as the only points in the first 3:18 went to Aleks Maric (1) and Marko Popovic (2).
Eventually, the scoring returned and Loko got the better end of it. Calathes tied the game at 48-all on a 3-pointer, while Valery Likhodei came up with an impressive block on Mindaugas Kuzminskas. A few minutes later, Calathes’s alley-oop pass was jammed home by a soaring Derrick Brown. Zalgiris hung on for most of the period, but Likhodei’s 3-pointer in the final minute, followed by a Hendrix steal and Brown jumper put the home team ahead by five points, 59-54, with 10 minutes to play.
Turning Point
Lokomotiv quickly grew its lead to nine points in the fourth quarter, 64-55, its largest lead yet in the game. Zalgiris battled to get back in the game, but the best it could do was tread water with the efficient Lokomotiv offense, cheered on by the home crowd. Calathes played the biggest role in the decisive quarter and Kuban ultimately coasted in with a 10-point win, 82-72, and valuable 2-1 lead in the series, just one victory shy of the finals.
Star of the Game
Nick Calathes. The Greek-American playmaker was sharp running Lokomotiv’s offense, adding seven points of his own in the fourth quarter to record an impressive double-double (20 points, 12 assists). Nick was just one assist shy of the season record.
Stat of the Game
4. Calathes went 4-7 from beyond the arc (57.1%), well above his season average (he made four 3-pointers for the first time this season). For comparison – Zalgiris as a team converted just seven 3-pointers.
Quotes
Lokomotiv-Kuban head coach Evgeny Pashutin:
— We played with character today, but the playoffs are the playoffs — the effect of the quick turnaround between games could be seen in the first two quarters. We started to defend better in the third quarter, like we did the entire season. Plus, our balanced offense was there — we were able to hit difficult shots in the final seconds, we were careful and didn't take rushed shots, thus controlling the game.
It's not easy to defend against this team — Zalgiris has several excellent shooters, who played well in the Euroleague. The series continues and we understand that defense is our foundation. It's important for us to recover in time for the next game and play our best.
Zalgiris head coach Joan Plaza:
— First of all, I'd like to say that both semifinal series are pretty unpredictable. In one individual game, any team can win. I, for my part, have already drawn several conclusions from those games already played — we have made mistakes on defense, plus Lokomotiv is playing fairly athletically and very rough against us. Krasnodar is also hitting a number of difficult shots at the end of possessions. Calathes, Brown, Jasaitis are able to do it with regularity. In those situations, it's difficult to fault the defense, but it makes things very difficult.
Top Performers
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Nick Calathes – 20 points, 12 assists; Simas Jasaitis – 18 points; Derrick Brown – 14 points; Valery Likhodei – 12 points; Mantas Kalnietis – six points, nine assists.
Zalgiris: Ksistof Lavrinovic – 24 points, seven rebounds; Oliver Lafayette – nine points, seven assists; Marko Popovic – eight points.
To Be Continued…
Game 4 in the Zalgiris – Lokomotiv-Kuban series will be played on Tuesday, May 28 in Krasnodar. The game tips off at 7:00 pm local time. You can watch live on Rossiya 2, Sport (Lithuania), Lietuvos Rytas TV (Lithuania) and VTB-League.com.
Source
http://www.vtb-league.com/en/news/loko-taking-charge-at-z...
