Siauliai — Juventus Utena: 83:71, LKL

Šiauliai saw off Utenos Juventus 83-71 in the Lithuanian Basketball League on Sunday evening. The hosts took control early and never let the visitors close the gap, winning by twelve points at home.

Šiauliai's shooting from distance was the difference. They hit 8 of 28 three-point attempts while Juventus managed just 4 from 20. To be fair, the visitors never found their rhythm from beyond the arc and that showed in the scoreboard.

We'd backed the hosts at 57% confidence before the game. And here's the thing, the shooting split explained why that call made sense — Šiauliai's perimeter game was simply sharper tonight.

The statistics told the same story. Šiauliai registered 16 assists to Juventus's 10, and 6 steals against 4. The visitors turned the ball over 17 times, which gave the hosts plenty of transition opportunities.

Šiauliai shot 29 of 71 from the field and 13 of 22 from the line. Juventus were 26 of 64 and 15 of 19 respectively. The free-throw gap didn't shift the result, but the three-point differential did.

Šiauliai remain fourth with 17 wins from 32 games, while Juventus sit seventh with 20 defeats. The eight-point gap in the standings reflects the consistency gap between the two sides this season.

Šiauliai came off a 71-79 loss to Frankfurt on Wednesday, but they responded with a solid home win. Juventus, meanwhile, lost heavily to Malaga last time out and couldn't build on their recent wins against domestic opposition.