Lauri Markkanen's Finland and Jonas Valanciunas' Lithuania squared off in Monday's 2025 EuroBasket Group D fixture. Finland entered the clash with a 3-0 record, while Lithuania boasted a 2-1 record. Nevertheless, both teams appeared well-matched on paper.
The first quarter summed it up as the Fins led by only one point. Lithuania did a phenomenal job of keeping Markkanen quiet with only two points on four shot attempts. Meanwhile, his NBA counterpart, Valanciunas, came off the bench but had four points.
Lithuania had a much better showing to start the second quarter. After trailing by seven to begin the game, it jumped ahead with a six-point lead three minutes into the second frame. Rokas Jokubaitis was responsible for it after he scored nine points until that point.
The Lithuanians managed to keep Lauri Markkanen in check and make his teammates beat them, which worked in their favor during the first half. It was key in maintaining their lead and even extending it to nine points.
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Jokubaitis remained on a heater during the second and had 13 points on 5 of 11 shots entering the break. Meanwhile, Finland couldn't trim the game-high nine-point lead before halftime, but came close multiple times, thanks to Mikael Jantunen's 13 points. Lauri Markkanen was held to only seven points on 3 of 9 shots.
Both teams remained neck-and-neck in the third quarter, similar to the first, but only with less efficient offense, scoring 12 points each. It wasn't the close until the final two minutes as the Fins trimmed a 14-point deficit to nine, entering the fourth.
After Jokubaitis cooled off, Marek Blazevic picked up his scoring in the second half, adding eight points to his first-half tally of six. Meanwhile, other players also made handy contributions across the board. Lithuania was comfortably ahead with four minutes left, leading 72-60.
Finland made it close by cutting the gap to five points with 1:40 to go. However, Markkanen and Co. couldn't make amends. Tadas Sedekerskis' 3-pointer with 27 seconds to go extended the Lithuanians' lead to eight, who went on to win 81-78.
Lauri Markkanen and Mikael Jatunen finished with 19 points apiece for the Fins, while Rokas Jokubaitis (16 points) and Mark Blazevic (14 points) led Lithuania's charge.
Here's the full box score: