By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With Kevin Pangos giving to his team a 93-92 lead, the Greens had to beat Zalgiris Kaunas and the clock. Calathes did with an amazing coast-to-coast that gave Panathinaikos the 94-93 win.
Playing against not only Pangos, but also his former teammate in Memphis, Beno Udrih, Calathes flirted once more with the triple-double (14 p. 8 r. 9 as.) and saved the day after a peculiar game. While Panathinaikos started the night leading by 20 points in the first half, Zalgiris managed to tie it all at 53 after a 16-6 run at the start of the second half.
The Lithuanians had also the change to win the game. Pangos had the ball in the last possession of regulation, he drove to the basket, contact was made, but no foul was called. With the score tied at 83, the game went to overtime.
Once more Zalgiris got the lead, thanks to a 7-0 run (90-83), still, Panathinaikos somehow found the way to come back and win it. In total six players of the hosts scored in double digits, while Zalgiris took advantage of the Greeks’ issues in the paint.
Antanas Kavaliauskas with a career-high (21 p.) and Aaron White (17 p.) couldn’t be denied near the basket by anyone. Considering the fact that Zalgiris has never beat Panathinaikos on the road, the team of coach Sarunas Jasikevicius, a former EuroLeague champ as a player of the Greeks, lost a big chance.