By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
The news with Kevin Punter and Aleksa Avramovic returning to action was followed with more good stuff for Partizan Mozzart Bet, an overtime win in Stark Arena.
Facing his former team on Thursday, Zeljko Obradovic guided his side to the 92-87 victory versus Panathinaikos Aktor.
Setting his best scoring performance of the 2023-24 campaign at 23 points, Zach LeDay sealed the deal in the extra period. A strong dunk made it a two-possession game with 15 seconds on the clock.
“The main thing was just getting stops and rebounds. Offensively, nobody in Europe can guard us. That is how we feel. We just have to keep getting better in defense and coming together as a group,” mentioned the 29-year-old forward/center.
PJ Dozier followed with 16 points, including ten in the fourth quarter and overtime of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague contest. Punter’s 13 points after one month on the injury list due to a leg injury included the game-tying bucket with 34.7 seconds left in regulation.
“It was good to have Kevin back. That was major for him to come, give us some perimeter explosion on both ends,” LeDay welcomed his teammate back to action. Avramovic was wearing a mask following the nose injury and had five points in ten minutes. In contrast, Uros Trifunovic (thigh) remained sidelined with Balsa Koprivica sitting out as well.
With a fourth straight win at home, the AdmiralBet ABA League champions jumped to 5-6 and limited the visitors to 6-5. Ergin Ataman’s side was coming off four EuroLeague wins in a row and eight straight across all competitions.
“It was a very intense game. The physicality was there. The atmosphere was amazing. Every play counted, all the way down the stretch,” Dozier painted the picture of a low-scoring tight affair, “We stayed together, made plays when we needed to make plays, and everything else took care of itself.”
The visitors were in control for most of the 40 minutes with the advantage peaking at ten points early in the fourth period. “We found the energy thanks to our people,” Obradovic nodded to the fans explaining the comeback, “Thanks to the players that fought until the last moment.”
At the losing end, Kendrick Nunn highlighting a list of five double-digit scorers with a season-high 19 points was not enough. Mathias Lessort tallied 16 points and put up a double-digit PIR for the 18th straight game with the streak starting back to the 2022-23 season and his fan-favorite status at Partizan.
“Until the last two minutes, we played a perfect game. In the last two minutes, we made ridiculous mistakes. We missed an open layup in the last ten seconds,” Ataman expressed his disappointment, “We had bad luck tonight. Partizan played aggressively in the last two minutes. Congratulations.”
Besides Juancho Hernangomez (finger) and Ioannis Papapetrou (knee), Dimitris Moraitis was a healthy scratch. Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, Kyle Guy, and Kostas Antetokounmpo did not leave the bench.
A familiar venue for Ergin Ataman
After spending six years at Anadolu Efes and winning two EuroLeague championships, Ataman visiting his former team highlights the upcoming double-game week. The Greens will be in Istanbul on Tuesday, before returning home to welcome Real Madrid in Athens on Thursday. Potentially extending a perfect start in Greece’s Stoiximan Basket League to nine games by avoiding an upset from Karditsa Iaponiki on Saturday, precedes resuming the EuroLeague campaign.
Partizan will also be in action on Saturday, staying in Belgrade to face FMP Soccerbet and hoping to improve to 7-3 in the ABA League. Home games opposite AS Monaco on Tuesday and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on Thursday are next on the team schedule.