By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Paris Basketball has already gained the respect of the EuroLeague, however, at this point, they should be considered title contenders.
The French newcomers beat Olympiacos 96-90 after an instant classic and remain all alone on the top with an 11-3 record, while Olympiacos dropped to a 9-5 record for a three-way tie with Bayern Munich and Monaco between the third and the fifth spot of the standings.
TJ Shorts with 21 points and eight assists put on one more spectacular show, Nadir Hifi had 20 points, and Tyson Ward added 14 points.
“This is a huge win, considering the environment, the roster that they have, and their fans”, said Shorts after the final buzzer.
Evan Fournier had 25 points trying to save the day, Sasha Vezenkov added 18 points and Olympiacos first and foremost lost the rebounding battle with Paris having a 40-26 advantage.
A 20-point comeback was not enough for Olympiacos
After a tied first period at 21, Paris opened up the second quarter with a 9-2 run (30-23) building a solid lead as Shorts already had 10 points.
Olympiacos tried to close the gap, but Paris went up again by eight (49-41) and Thomas Walkup with a three almost at the buzzer cut it to five (49-44).
Still, the French side managed to have a 16-point advantage (65-49) with a 16-5 run to start the second half, Olympiacos simply couldn’t score and trailed by 13 (73-60) at the end of the third.
The lead jumped to 20 (80-60) with seven quick points to start the last quarter and the hosts finally woke up with a 20-0 run, tying the score at 80 after a three by Alec Peters with less than four minutes left.
Fournier took over the game, not only scoring but also stealing the ball three times during the run, and with one more steal from the French star, Olympiacos got the ball and Nigel Williams-Goss gave the Reds the 82-80 lead.
After 22 unanswered points, Nadir Hifi made a three to give the lead back to Paris (83-82) and Shorts with one more made the score 86-82.
Sasha Vezenkov with two free throws trimmed the lead to two (86-82) Mado Lo missed and Williams-Goss tied the score again at 86 entering the last minute.
Shorts missed, Luca Vildoza did the same and Maodo Lo scored a big three (89-86) with 20 seconds left.
Fournier was fouled and made one of two free throws (89-87), Mikael Jantunen answered with a breakaway dunk (91-87), and Fournier with a three trimmed the lead to one (91-90).
Maodo Lo was fouled and gave a 93-90 advantage to Paris with 5 seconds left, Fournier lost the ball and Nadir Hifi with a three at the buzzer made the final 96-90.
Photo credit: EuroLeague