With a tremendous late-game surge led by Kostas Sloukas, Panathinaikos regained the home-court advantage by defeating Maccabi 95-88. Thus, the ticket to the Final Four is in their hands and will go through OAKA!
In contrast to previous games, Panathinaikos started the game very well, with Kendrick Nunn performing excellently in the first quarter, leading by 8 points (12-20) at the 6-minute mark, fully imposing their rhythm. The defenses were solid, the offense found its pace, and they managed to control the game. This was influenced by Baldwin’s readiness, who had caused more damage to his team and less good. Coach Katsikaris realized this and trusted the second unit on the perimeter, which proved to be effective.
LESSOOOOORT ?
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With Blatt and Di Bartolomeo setting the pace, Maccabi executed their counterattack from the perimeter and with long-range shots. Both were key players for the Israelis to change the course of the game at the “Aleksandar Nikolic Hall” and for Maccabi to achieve a partial score of 17-6 (!) and close the quarter with a +3 lead (29-26), shooting 8/11 from two-point range and 4/7 from three-point range, while the “greens” (Nunn 11pts) scored 9/12 from two-point range and 1/3 from three-point range during the same period.
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In the second quarter, the same scenario prevailed with both teams staying close in score, unable to establish a significant lead. For Panathinaikos, Sloukas, Lesor, and Mitoglou took over from Kendrick Nunn to maintain balance in the game. Maccabi managed to take a slight lead at 40-36 with 3:35 left before halftime, as well as shortly before the end of the first half at 50-46, before Nunn (16pts, 4/4 2PT, 2/4 3PT, 2/2 FT, 3reb, 2ast) hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to bring the halftime score to 50-49.
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After two quarters, Maccabi (with Di Bartolomeo scoring 10 points) had 12 assists but also 12 turnovers, along with shooting 14/20 from two-point range, 5/15 from three-point range, 7/11 from the free-throw line, and grabbing 13 rebounds. On the other hand, Panathinaikos recorded 16/21 from two-point range, 3/8 from three-point range, 8/11 from the free-throw line, and 15 rebounds at halftime.
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Although Panathinaikos seemed to have the momentum of the game, it was Maccabi who responded with a partial score of 10-0, turning the score from 68-74 to 78-74 at 32′. Subsequently, the partial score became 14-1 (!) with the home team completely seizing the momentum of the game and leading by seven points (82-75) with 6:27 remaining. Nunn and Papapetrou kept Panathinaikos within one possession (86-85 at 37′), until the defenses took action and Kostas Sloukas, who took the team on his shoulders, secured a +5 lead (88-93) at 39′.
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