By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Mathias Lessort went to the free throws line with three seconds left. The score was tied, he made one free throw and Barcelona couldn’t score in the remaining time.
Panathinaikos got the 90-89 win and got an 8-5 record, leaving Barcelona at 7-6.
Kendrick Nunn with a EuroLeague career high of 29 points was huge making buzzer-beaters at the end of the first, second, and third periods, Lorenzo Brown scored 18 points and Lessort had 16.
In the post-game flash interview, Nunn reacted to his buzzer-beaters.
“A little bit, not so much”, he joked when asked if he’s practicing on that kind of shot. “I guess when the time’s coming you only get one shot. Muscle memory to knock it down”.
From the losing side, Juan Nunez had 19 points, Jabari Parker had 15 and Alex Abrines added 13.
A dogfight until the end
Panathinaikos had a 25-19 lead after the first period thanks to a buzzer-beating three behind halfcourt by Kendrick Nunn and Brown already scoring 12 points.
However, thanks to Nunez and Parker who had 12 and 11 points respectively in the first half, Barcelona tied the score at 45. To be exact they got the lead, and Nunn tied it all for Panathinaikos with a personal total of 14 points in 13 minutes.
Still, the Catalans were not rattled and managed to get a 66-55 lead after two threes and three free throws by Alex Abrines. It was the first time in the game that either team got a double-digit cushion.
However, at the end of the period, Nunn scored one more amazing three-pointer to make it a six-point game (69-63), and with two more threes, he started the fourth by tying the score at 69.
The game ended up being a dogfight in the closing seconds and with the score tied at 89, Lessort was fouled, made one free throw and it was enough.
Photo credit: EuroLeague