ISTANBUL (Euroleague) - Lithuania national team hopeful Edgaras Ulanovas sparked Zalgiris Kaunas in an important road victory at Anadolu Efes on Thursday in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague.

A standout with his country's youth sides, including the title-winning teams at the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship and the 2012 European Championship, the 1.97m forward endured a slow start in his first Euroleague campaign with just a couple points in his opening two games against Real Madrid and Nizhny Novgorod.

He poured in 19 points and corralled seven rebounds in a 65-62 triumph over Efes in Istanbul.

Ulanovas also had a couple of steals and finished with a team-best performance index rating of 23.

Zalgiris went in front by 12 points in the third quarter and were still on top by eight early on in the final frame but Efes stormed back and closed the gap to 62-60 in the final minute.

The hosts fouled Ulanovas and the youngster calmly sank both free throws to help the Lithuanian giants close out the victory.

"It was a tough game," Ulanovas said.

"The fourth quarter was a battle, but small details allowed us to win the game."

Gintaras Krapikas played Ulanovas, a 22-year-old Kaunas native, more than 29 minutes.

Zalgiris now have two victories in their first three games in Group A.

"We are very lucky to get a really tough win in Istanbul against a top team in this group," said Krapikas.

FIBA