By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Derrick Williams scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed five rebounds as Panathinaikos Athens beat Zalgiris Kaunas 67 – 81 on the road to capture its third straight EuroLeague win. Zalgiris lost for the first time at home this season after four victories.
“Credit to the guys, we started really good,” Williams said. He had 6-6 on 2-pointers and 2-5 triples. “We knew they would have a push, because they’re a good team with a good home crowd. But like I said, credit to the guys for getting stops when we needed to and hitting big time shots”
Williams, who had 19 of his points in the second half, also hit a key 3-pointer for the 65 – 75 with 3:04 to play after Zalgiris had trimmed a 19-point third-period deficit to four at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Nate Wolters then pulled off a big play, blocking a 3-point attempt by Keenan Evans and then finishing with the layup on the other end. Panathinaikos retained a double-digit advantage until the end.
“We played quite well in the first half,” Panathinaikos coach Dejan Radonjic said. “[In the] second half, they had the momentum, but we improved our defense. Offensively, it was much better at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the last. In the end, it was a good game for us and a big win.”
Evans finished with 18 points, five assists and three steals while leading Zalgiris’ comeback from down 28 – 47 with 11 points in the third quarter and the bucket for the 48 – 54. The Lithuanian side was 58 – 62 a minute into the fourth period but never managed to get at a shooting distance and fell apart down the stretch. Kevarrius Hayes (10 points) and Edgaras Ulanovas (10 points) also scored in double figures for the hosts.
Dwayne Bacon had 19 points (on 7-20 from the field) and eight rebounds for Panathinaikos. He dropped 11 of his points by the mid of the second period when the Greens took an 18 – 36 lead after an electric 11 – 27 start in the first nine minutes. Wolters contributed 11 points while George Papagiannis grabbed 13 rebounds to go with his six points.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that can do some great things with the ball and we’re all gelling together right now,” Bacon said. “It doesn’t matter who takes the shots, who has the most points, we’re just trying to win games and take it one day at a time.”
Zalgiris coach Kazys Mazvytis admitted that there was something wrong with the way his team prepared for the game. “We can say that Panathinbaikos was much better [than us tonight],” Mazvytis said. “We had some minutes where we were playing well, but we had bad focus and a bad plan for the game. As coach, I need to take responsibility.”