By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
It wasn’t the best game for Olympiacos, but the Greeks managed to beat LDLC ASVEL 94-92 and survived for a 6-3 record in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings.
The French side had an amazing game with Theo Maledon scoring 31 points and stealing the show.
However, on the other side, Sasa Vezenkov with 21 points, and Evan Fournier with 20 did their part, even if in the end Vezenkov missed two free throws and almost gave the chance to ASVEL to send the game to overtime or win.
It didn’t happen and ASVEL remained second to last with a 2-7 record. Nikola Milutinov with 13 points and seven rebounds also made things happen for the Reds, while Joffrey Lauvergne scored 16 for the French side.
“We didn’t have a good game, we can’t allow this kind of game, the only good thing is that we won”, said Milutinov after the game.
A thriller until the end
After beating Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Panathinaikos on the road, Olympiacos decided to take a break in the first half against ASVEL which ended with the French side leading 50-42 after 20 minutes of action.
With Maledon scoring 14 points in the first half, the guests led after the first period (29-24) and Olympiacos never had the lead or even a tie after starting the game 4-2.
Things didn’t change at the start of the second half with ASVEL pushing the lead to 14 points (63-49) with Lauverge scoring 12 points up to this point.
Olympiacos reacted and made it a five-point game (63-58) with Maledon answering back with a three (66-58). Olympiacos continued and Vezenkov made it a two-point game (67-65) and Fournier kept the same distance (73-71) to close the third period.
Maledon with one more big three gave some distance to ASVEL (79-75) and Olympiacos simply couldn’t get a stop when it mattered. By tooth and claw, Vezenkov tied the score at 84 but Lavergne gave the lead back to ASVEL (86-84).
Finally, Thomas Walkup with a three gave Olympiacos the lead (87-86) and Fournier created a three-point cushion (89-86). One more steal by Walkup and two free throws (91-86) by Nigel Williams-Goss seemingly closed the deal for the Reds with a 7-0 run.
That was not the case. Mbaye Ndiaye managed to make it a three-point game (92-89), Fournier made two free throws for Olympiacos (94-89) and Maledon was fouled with six seconds on the clock on a three-pointer attempt.
He made his free throws (94-92), Vezenkov missed two and ultimately ASVEL didn’t have the time to score in the last four-second possession.