Zalgiris start King Mindaugas Cup defense with a bang

Zalgiris began the defense of their King Mindaugas Cup title with a dominant victory against Siauliai in the first leg of the Quarter-Finals, beating their opponents 104-61 on the road in Tuesday's fixture.

Paced by 16 points from Deon Thompson, the Kaunas club set themselves up with a 43-point cushion for the return leg to be played in February.

The trio of Thomas Walkup, Aaron White and Brandon Davies added 12 points apiece for the Sarunas Jasikevicius-coached side, while Laurynas Birutis collected 10 points and 5 rebounds against his former team.

Meanwhile, Benas Griciunas finished with a game-high 19 points for Siauliai, as Ignas Vaitkus got his name in double figures with 12 points, 4 assists and 3 steals.