By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
It wasn’t easy at all, still, Panathinaikos managed to close the game the right way and got the 81-77 win over Crvena Zvezda.
The defending champions have a 5-2 record, while Zvezda after starting the season with a 3-0 record, dropped to 3-4.
Kendrick Nunn with 13 points led a team effort with five players in total scoring in double digits. Mathias Lessort was close to double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.
“I wasn’t at my best today but my teammates had my back and that’s how this team does it,” Lessort said in a post-game courtside interview. “It’s a big win for us because this is a tough environment to play in. We got the job done and we can go home now.”
Isaiah Canaan scored 20 points for Zvezda and it was not enough.
Green comeback in the third
The first period was completed with the score tied at 18, and the battle continued until the 17th minute when Juancho Hernagomez gave the 30-29 lead to Panathinaikos.
What followed was a furious 15-0 run by Zvezda to get a 44-30 advantage and the Greens reacted with their own 8-2 run to make the halftime score 46-38.
Zvezda started the third period getting back to a 14-point lead (52-38), however with 18 seconds left in the quarter Panathinaikos was trailing by one after a 16-4 partial score (55-54) and by three (58-55) entering the fourth period.
Ognen Dobric with a three (61-55) extended the distance, but with three minutes left, and after the two teams exchanged big shots, Zvezda was up by one (71-70) and Sloukas gave the lead to Panathinaikos (72-71) with two free throws.
Canaan (74-72) and Mitoglou (75-74) exchanged threes, both teams missed chances to score and Petrusev scored one more three (77-75) with one minute left. Nunn tied the score at 77, Nedovic missed and with five seconds left Yago Dos Santos fouled Lorenzo Brown.
Brown made his free throws (79-77), Milos Teodosic missed his attempt for a three and the game was decided.
Photo credit: EuroLeague