LiAngelo Ball Helps Vytautas Snap 9-Game Losing Streak; LaMelo Held Scoreless
Vytautas' LKL losing streak is over.
LaMelo Ball was silent, but LiAngelo Ball came up huge as Vytautas earned a 97-95 victory over Siauliai on Sunday. Vytautas entered the game with nine straight losses in league play and coach Virginijus Seskus under fire from LaVar Ball—especially after last week's decision to start new signee Rashaun Broadus.
"I have spent a lot of time in Prienai. If things go well, trust me, for Prienai basketball I could take a break for a year, if they would like to do something here," Seskus said, per Lonzo Wire's Josh Martin. "We will sit down, and we will talk. Time will pass. I think things will settle down."
If LaVar measures Vytautas' success by the Ball brothers' performance, it's likely he'll be conflicted. The two brothers started for the first time together in their professional careers and had wildly disparate performances.
LaMelo struggled mightily and was scoreless. Failing with his shot and playing lackadaisical defense, LaMelo's only positive impact against Siauliai was a first-half assist. Seskus sat the 16-year-old guard the entire second half.
LiAngelo, meanwhile, finished with 13 points in a solid outing—including a big fourth quarter that helped keep Vytautas in the game. He knocked down a pair of threes in the period, highlighted by an and-one, and had a steal and offensive rebound in crunch time.
The defensive effort and hustle on the boards were particularly pleasant surprises, as the Ball brothers seemed to have little interest in anything outside scoring the basketball in BBB exhibition contests. LiAngelo has proved himself as the more effective player in the better competition of LKL games. That's in part because he's 19 years old and more developed than his brother, but he also may be a little better than advertised.
Six Vytautas players landed in double figures. The team was consistently successful inside the three-point arc (24-of-37, 64.9 percent) and somehow maintained a lead despite being dominated on the glass (45-30).
Siauliai shot only 45.3 percent from the field but stayed close throughout the second half by pounding the offensive boards and getting second-chance points.
Vytautas has a break from league play until a March 3 matchup against Lietuvos Rytas.
