Neptunas survive overtime thriller in Alytus; Pieno Zvaigzdes defeat Lietkabelis

Neptunas needed overtime to add another win to their Betsafe LKL tally, surviving a dramatic 88-82 encounter with Dzukija on the road in Alytus to improve to a 19-5 mark on Saturday evening.

Things could have taken a turn for the worse for the visitors at the end of regulation, with Elijah Brown fouled on his game-tying three-pointer with just seconds to play in the fourth quarter. However, the guard failed to convert the four-point play that would've put Dzukija in a winning position and Neptunas retook control of the game in the extra period.

Jerai Grant had a team-high 19 points and 6 rebounds for the victors, with Tomas Delininkaitis and Osvaldas Olisevicius finishing with 11 points each. Dziugas Slavinskas was the only other Neptunas player in double figures with 10 points.

For Dzukija, Kerem Kanter double-doubled with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Elijah Brown and Paulius Danisevicius added 22 and 17 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, the recent setback against Rytas did not derail the in-form Pieno Zvaigzdes, who bounced back to winning ways with an impressive 104-99 victory against Lietkabelis.

The Pasvalys club tied their fourth-placed regional rivals from Panevezys with a 14-10 mark but remind one step behind in the standings due to their head-to-head record.

Yannick Franke paced the winners with 22 points, Zygimantas Skucas collected 20 points, while Dagoberto Pena added 15 points. Meanwhile, Paulius Valinskas and Ike Iroegbu finished with 20 points apiece for Lietkabelis.

Elsewhere, Siauliai managed to get lift-off from the bottom of the table with a 90-84 come-from-behind victory against Skycop Prienai, improving to a 5-19 record and sending Nevezis down to last place.

Cedrick Bowen led the Antanas Sireika-coached club to their second win in a row with 18 points and 6 rebounds, Evaldas Saulys fired in 16 points, while the trio of Benas Griciunas, Karolis Lukosiunas and Arminas Urbutis added 11 points each.

Even a 32-point offensive performance by Malcolm Grant couldn't save the Prienai club from wasting a 24-point advantage, falling to 8-16 in the process.