Neptunas top Lietkabelis; Lietuvos Rytas and Juventus also victorious

Neptunas and Lietuvos Rytas celebrated wins to keep pace at the top of the Betsafe LKL standings, while Juventus held off a tough challenge by Vytautas to round out Saturday's action.

Currently in third place, the Kazys Maksvytis-coached Neptunas registered an 83-78 victory against the fourth-placed Lietkabelis behind stellar play from Edgaras Zelionis and Renaldas Seibutis.

Zelionis finished the game with 25 points and 4 steals, while Seibutis added 21 points, grabbed 4 rebounds and came away with 3 steals. Latvia international Zanis Peiners was the top scorer for the losing team with 19 points.

Having improved to a 16-4 mark, Neptunas increased their lead over their league table rivals from Panevezys, who fell to 13-8 following the defeat on the road in Klaipeda.

Meanwhile, Lietuvos Rytas moved their marker to 17-4 with a convincing 105-84 triumph over the visiting Dzukija, as sharpshooter Jimmy Baron set the pace with 23 points.

Baron, who knocked down 5-of-7 attempts form beyond the arc, was one of five home side's players in double figures, with Loukas Mavrokefalidis and Martynas Echodas next in line with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Despite not being among the double-figure scorers, Chris Kramer also had an excellent game, dishing out a game-high 14 assists.

Paulius Petrilevicius was the star of the evening for Dzukija, collecting 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a pair of steals for an overall efficiency of 34.

Elsewhere, Juventus needed a big performance from Kenneth Gaines to take an 86-78 away win against Vytautas in Prienai, with the American newcomer scoring a game-high 19 points in just 20 minutes on the floor.

LaRon Dendy chipped in with 14 points, while Arvydas Siksnius and Dovis Bickauskis scored 13 apiece, but the latter couldn't finish the game due to an injury.

A 14-point night from Regimantas Miniotas was a team-high for Vytautas, Tomas Dimsa had 13 points and 5 assists, while Martynas Linkevicius drained three three-pointers en route to a 12-point contribution.

The Ball brothers both got a chance to play and had noteworthy displays, with the LiAngelo scoring 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting and LaMelo adding 6 points and 4 assists on 2-of-7 attempts from the field.

Juventus maintained their fifth place in the standings, climbing to 9-12, while Vytautas stayed at the bottom of the table with a league-worst 4-17 mark. It was the eighth loss in a row for the Prienai-Birstonas club.