LiAngelo, LaMelo Ball scoreless in pro debut in Lithuania

American basketball players LiAngelo Ball, right, and his brother, LaMelo, show their shirts after signing for Lithuanian team BC Prienai – Birstonas Vytautas, during a news conference at the Harmony park hotel in Vaizgaikiemis village, Prienai district, Lithuania, Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. LiAngelo Ball and LaMelo Ball signed a one-year contracts to play for Lithuanian professional basketball club Prienai – Birstonas Vytautas in the southern Lithuania town of Prienai, some 110 km (68 miles) from the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.(AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

PANEVEZYS, Lithuania — LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball went scoreless in their pro basketball debut, finishing a combined 0 for 7.

The younger brothers of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball played in the Lithuanian league for BC Prienai on Saturday. Their team lost 95-86 to Lietkabelis Panevezys.

LiAngelo went 0 for 3 from the field in just over 9 minutes. His 16-year-old brother, LaMelo, played 5:16, going 0 for 4.

The brothers signed with the Lithuanian team last month after LiAngelo withdrew from UCLA. He was suspended indefinitely following his arrest for shoplifting during a recent tour of China.

That sparked a Twitter spat between father LaVar Ball and President Donald Trump.

LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball combined for 29 points in an exhibition against the reserve team of Zalgiris on Tuesday. It was the first of five planned exhibitions designed to showcase the Ball brothers. Another is scheduled for Monday.

In basketball-crazy Lithuania, the game is often dubbed the “second religion” and attracts huge crowds to arenas even in small towns. There have been several Lithuania players in NBA teams, including Portland Trail Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis and Zydrunas “Big Z” Ilgauskas of the Cleveland Cavaliers.