Zalgiris Kaunas strengthened its position in the EuroLeague playoff race with an 83-71 victory over FC Barcelona on Thursday at Zalgirio Arena in Round 35.
The win improved Zalgiris to 21-14 and extended its home winning streak to seven games, while Barcelona fell to 20-15 and dropped behind the Lithuanian club in the standings.
Moses Wright led the hosts with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Nigel Williams-Goss added 16 points as Zalgiris controlled the glass 41-30.
The decisive stretch came in the fourth quarter when Sylvain Francisco took over offensively after being limited for most of the night.
Francisco finished with 14 points, but all of them came in the final nine minutes as he knocked down four three-pointers to break open a tight contest.
Barcelona focused its defense on Francisco early, frequently sending double teams and assigning the taller Tomas Satoransky as the primary defender.
Despite the pressure, the guard remained involved in the offense with six first-half assists while looking for scoring opportunities.
Satoransky exited the game with 4:12 remaining in the second quarter and did not return in the second half.
The game remained balanced through three quarters before the Lithuanian side tightened its defense and capitalized on perimeter shooting in the closing minutes.
Zalgiris finished 11-for-23 from three-point range and held Barcelona to 6-for-18 from beyond the arc.
Kevin Punter led the visitors with 16 points, while Jan Vesely added 14 and Tornike Shengelia contributed 10.
Barcelona struggled to generate consistent offense late and was unable to match Zalgiris’ scoring burst down the stretch.
The result also completed a season sweep for Zalgiris after its 88-73 road win against Barcelona earlier in the campaign.
Zalgiris will return to action at home against Dubai Basketball on April 7 before visiting Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade on April 10.
Barcelona faces a difficult stretch next week with home games against Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens on April 7 and AS Monaco on April 10, both direct rivals in the race for playoff positioning.
