By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Milutinov had a game to remember in the win against Panathinaikos OPAP and with a 41 PIR was the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague award of the week.
Per EuroLeague: Olympiacos Piraeus not only aced the Greek derby against Panathinaikos OPAP Athens in Round 16 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season, but one of its stars, center Nikola Milutinov, earned the MVP of the Round honor for the third time this season. Milutinov dominated with 18 points, 18 rebounds and a career-high performance index rating of 41 as Olympiacos topped its archrival 79-65 on Friday.
His rebounds total established a new Olympiacos record in the team’s 443 EuroLeague games played this century, and his 13 defensive boards matched the EuroLeague’s high since 2015. Milutinov downed 5 of 8 two-point shots and 8 of 10 free throws while drawing 11 fouls for what was the third-highest PIR of the EuroLeague season so far. Milutinov was previously MVP in Round 2 and Round 13 this season. Gustavo Ayon of Real Madrid and Goga Bitadze of Buducnost VOLI Podgorica followed Milutinov with PIRs of 31 in Round 16. Ayon led Madrid to a 91-79 home win against Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv. He finished the game with 18 points on 9-of-10 two-point shooting, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. In just his second EuroLeague game, Bitadze had 23 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks and 8 fouls drawn in his team’s 111-94 road loss to AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan. Vasilije Micic of Anadolu Efes Istanbul had a PIR of 29 while Michael Roll of Maccabi, Thomas Heurtel of FC Barcelona Lassa and Arturas Gudaitis of Milan each posted a PIR of 26 to complete the top individual performances in Round 16.