By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
A superb performance topped with a game-winning basket, courtesy of Mike Dixon was all that AEK needed in order to claim a 96 – 95 preseason victory against Galatasaray in Athens.
The American guard showed once again why his team might have hit the jackpot with this transfer, scoring 34 points (with six 3-pointers) plus a lay up with 3 seconds to go, that granted his team win over an opponent of Euroleague caliber.
AEK was superior in the game’s majority, on one hand thanks to its brilliant offensive game and on the other because coach Ergin Ataman used a deep rotation for Galatassaray.
The “Cimbom” fell behind the score 52 – 33 at halftime and were trailing 75 – 61 at the end of the third quarter. But with Russ Smith (29 points) doing lots of damage they came back and even took a 94 – 95 lead with a downtown basket by Goksenin Koksal.
However Dixon was the one the final say in the match.
Milan Milosevic and Dusan Sakota also scored in double-digit numbers from AEK, while Emir Preldzic (12 points), Tibor Pleiss (12 points) and Deon Thompson (11 points) stood out from Galatasaray.
Next stop for the Turkish team is the game with Olympiacos, also in Athens.