February 08, 2012
EB America Tour: Golden State 126-106 Lietuvos Rytas
Mindaugas Lukauskis - Lietuvos RytasThe Euroleague Basketball American Tour '08 came to a close on Tuesday with the highest-scoring game yet ending in another loss as the Golden State Warriors outraced Lietuvos Rytas to a 126-106 decision in Oakland, California. In its first game every in North America or against an NBA opponent, L. Rytas tried matching the pace of the run-and-gun Warriors, but found themselves on the short end of several big runs. Nonetheless, everyone was entertained as L. Rytas cut a 20-point halftime lead to just 5 in the third quarter, fell behind by even more and drew again close to singe digits down the stretch. The scorers on both sides certainly had fun. Stephen Jackson led the Warriors with 28 points in 32 minutes, hitting 5 of his 8 three-point tries. Corey Maggette added17 for the winners. Chuck Eidson neared a triple-double for L. Rytas with 28 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, while Marijonas Petravicius added 22 points, Mindaugas Lukauskis 20 and Matt Neilsen 11. For the 100 or so Lithuanian fans who came from all corners to watch their team, the show was certainly worth it.

Al Harrington opened the scoring with a fastbreak drive. but Lukauskas gabve L. Rytas a lead then with an open triple from the top. Biedrins scoredinside and Jackson struck from the arc to put the Warriors up 7-4. Petravicius put back an airball and then Eidson canned free throws and Lukauskis converted a steal to restore an L. Rytas advantage at 7-10. Harrington and Biedrins took it back for the Warriors, Barnko Milisavljevic answered for L. Rytas, but then the hosts pulled away with twin jumpers by Jackson. At 20-12, L. Rytas needed a timeout. Matt Nielsen stopped the bleeding with an inside bucket, then he and Eidson got to the line for free throws. When Eidson spotted up for a triple, the guests were back in the game at 24-41. Nielsen added another 2 points at the line and Eidson went high off the glass for a go-ahead layup at 24-25. Milko Bjelica's tip-in off a steal by Lukauskas and the latter's step-aside triple kept L. Rytas in front 28-30. But Golden State found the last two baskets, from Harrington and Magette in close, to make off with a 32-30 lead after 12 minutes.

Marijonas Petravicius - Lietuvos RytasThe scoring slowed to a Kelenna Azubuike dunk for the Warriors in the first 2 minutes of the second quarter, but it wasn't for lack of running and gunning. Azubuike was back for a high-flying layup as Golden State bounded ahead by 39-32 and L. Rytas stopped to talked about its disjointed attack. Nielsen got L. Rytas restarted and Petravicius tipped in another, but Golden State's jump shooters had it easy and the hosts' lead climbed to 49-36. After another L. Rytas timeout produced results as Eidsen flew in for a killer reverse, fed Petravicius with a great bounce pass and drilled two free throws to make it 53-42. Brandan Wright proved too much for L. Rytas, however, scoring 7 points in a couple minutes. The Warriors were on a roll now, launching up shot after shot in a 12-3 run that sent them to halftime leading 65-45.

L. Rytas came out smoking after the break as Lukauskis drained a triple while Petravicius and Martynas Gecevicius got loose underneath for dump-ins. Next, Gecevicius corraled a blocked shot in the corner and pumped in a high-arcing triple that made it a 0-10 run for the guests. The difference had been halved to 65-55 in less than 3 minutes and Golden State needed a timeout. After an exchange of basketd, Nielsen fed Gecevicius for a back-door basket-plus-free throw that made it 67-60. Lukauskis answered a Jackson triple with a shade shorter jump shot and a nice feed to Petravicius, who scored the shot and the free throw. Next that came with it for a 70-65 scoreboard. Lukauskis blasted a triple from the top to make it 72-68, but soon Jackson lifted the Warriors with a pair of jumpers, one from downtwon, to make it 81-70. After a timeout, the best L. Rytas could do was continue trading baskets, but Jackson was unstoppable from deep as the Warriors lead climbedto 91-74. The pace did not stop until the third-quarter buzzer sounded with the score already up to 96-79.

The gig was up less then 3 minutes into the final quarter, when yet another Golden State high flyer, Anthony Randolph, rammed home an offensive rebound to boost the difference to 106-84. The shootout would continue but L. Rytas had no time to either outgun the Warriors or slow down the pace. Which isn't to say the visitors didn't have fun. Petravicius and Eidsen combined on 8 quick points that rimmed the difference to 108-92. By the time Gecevicius buried one from the corner, L. Rytas's run was 2-11 and the difference 108-95, forcing another Golden State timeout. After Eudson's 3 free throws cut it to 112-100, L. Rytas had a chance to make it single digits with just under 3 minutes left, but a turnover led to a dunk by DeMarcus Nelson that ended any thought of a true rally. The Lithuanian visitors had to be content with putting on a great show for an American audience - not to mention 100 or so fans of their own - as they wait to start the Eurocup season later this month.

Lietuvos Rytas head coach Antanas Sireika

"Yes, it was fun for me to coach against an NBA team. It was like a big party with so many spectators and a good NBA team. I know Coach Nelson very well because I worked with his son on our national team for 10 years. Tonight's score was a big one, and I'm happy that my team also scored a lot of points, more than 100. It was good for the spectators. I think the players gained from this game, became stronger psychologically because it proved a great opportunity to play against a strong and experienced NBA team. It was a dream for them, and they touched the dream. I think we did scare the Warriors a little in the third quarter. We tried to make the NBA respect Euroleague teams the way they already respect individual players from Europe. I think this can help us. We had four players off from the Olympics until a short time, and now we are at full strength. Every game is important for team work and understanding, and of course this game was very useful to our preparation for future battles in Europe."

Lietuvos Rytas forward Chuck Eidson

"I think that the whole mood of this thing was to play good, but also to have a good time, so we tried to carry that out. You could see it with our players. Everybody was relaxed and it was fun. It's better than going somewhere and having to play some slow-down game. It's a fun game to get up and down the floor, and with the 24-second shot clock, you have to shoot anyway. So it was awesome. (I liked best) probably that we never quit. You know, that's a good sign for a team. We had struggled a little bit back in Europe, and I think now we're turning the corner and we're going to be a good ballclub. This can only help us. We have one plan this year and that's to get back to Euroleague. That's what we're about. We want to play good. And I think this is going to be good down the line. There's enough time that when we get back, we'll play a few games and get the European feel again, then start the Eurocup and really try to be strong."

Lietuvos Rytas guard Mindaugas Lukauskis

"It was a good game. We didn't let them kill us. OK, it was 20 points, but we were in front, they went up by 20, we came back until 6, then we made some mistakes and they put it back at 20. The result doesn't mean that they destroyed us. We played not equal, but not so bad. We have young guys in their first game against an NBA team. It was a big chance to play here, and also for their futures, it helps. Most of the players here were playing one-on-one, so we can learn better to play one-on-one, on defense and offense. They were different rules, but it wasn' t so bad. There's a lot to learn. Each of our players will take something, even small details, but it will help them."
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Euroleague.net
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