By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos Piraeus beat Panathinaikos Athens 81 – 73 at home in a game for Round 32 of the EuroLeague regular season to remain in the first place of the standings. The Reds registered their 13th straight win against their archrival over all competitions despite shooting 3-17 triples.
Two of the 3-pointers by Olympiacos came at important moments through. Sasha Vezenkov drained it from downtown for the 71 – 67 after a 0 – 5 run by Panathinakos late in the fourth period and then Thomas Walkup hit one from the corner to make it 78 – 72 with 1:15 remaining.
After a free throw by Paris Lee, Tarik Black scored the layup and won the foul for a 3-point play that was essentially the dagger. He finished with a game-high 21 points in his best performance with the Olympiacos jersey. Vezenkov dropped 19 points while Walkup dished out 13 assists, scored 11 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had five steals in a brilliant all-around performance.
Lee led Panathinaikos‘ scorers with 15 points while posting five assists. Dwayne Bacon contributed 14 points and five assists of his own before fouling out with five minutes to play while Arturas Gudaitis had 12 points plus six rebounds. Their team was minus swingman Mateusz Ponitka and guard Nate Wolters.
Panathinaikos was up 33 – 38 at halftime but Olympiacos opened the third period with a 11 – 1 run courtesy of six straight points by Vezenkov. The hosts improved their advantage to 57 – 48 with 10 minutes to play but it wasn’t over yet.
Eight unanswered points by Panathinaikos brought them at a shooting distance once more but again Olympiacos responded to pull away and retain a small, yet steady advantage, never allowing its opponents to tie the game. The clash remained close until the last 90 seconds and the 6-1 sequence by Walkup and Black.