By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
With their backs against the wall after an overtime loss at home in Game 3, Olympiacos Piraeus put on a stunning reaction against Barcelona in Game 4 to win 92 – 58, tie the series, and force a decisive Game 5.
Shaq McKissic led the charge for Olympiacos with 21 points and six rebounds.
He began a 17 – 0 run for the hosts that put them up 36 – 23 halfway through the second period and kept scoring as his team closed halftime up 53 – 37.
“Having our backs against the wall is the worst, but I love these situations”, Shaq mentioned after the game. “We went out and proved that we deserve to be in the Final Four. We have one more game, let’s do it. If they beat us, they deserve congratulations”.
Nikola Milutinov was also an important figure for Olympiacos during that stretch on both ends, finishing with eight points and nine rebounds overall. Nigel Williams-Goss had 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists while Filip Petrusev dropped 10 points.
Papanikolaou “demanded to play”
In his return for Olympiacos after missing the first three games of the playoffs due to illness, captain Kostas Papanikolaou produced 9 points on 3-6 triples, all of them in the third period to push back any Barca comeback attempt for good.
As Olympiacos coach Giorgos Bartzokas said after the game: “Kostas demanded himself to compete in this game. You see what is happening in the NBA. You play the whole season and when a franchise player gets injured, the whole season falls apart. It’s the same here. We’re going to give 100% in Game 5, that’s what we’ve been doing all year”.
Jabari Parker, the man who decided Game 3 with free throws in the last second, had 10 points for Barca and was the only player of his team in double figures.
His team, which led 21 – 23 at the end of the first quarter, was overwhelmed in the second period and then fell behind 72 – 47 with 10 minutes remaining, being unable to react against the determination of the Olympiacos team.