By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Despite being down by 15 points at halftime, Panathinaikos managed to come back with a 37-16 run in the third quarter, getting the 89-65 win against Zalgiris Kaunas.
Paris Lee was a key in that third-quarter comeback, and the former AS Monaco’s playmaker ended the game in OAKA with 24 points and 5/6 from beyond the arc.
“I just wanted to come out from the locker room and play harder. Everybody started following the pursuit”, Paris Lee said after the game. 22 of his career-high 24 points came after halftime.
Despite recording 3 turnovers, Mateusz Ponitka was perfect from the field (5/5) and at the line (2/2), as the Polish sensation scored 13.
Dwayne Bacon added 13 points but struggled from deep (1/5). After dominating the ANGT tournament, the 17-year-old Alexandros Samontourov made his EuroLeague debut.
“In the first twenty minutes, we made a lot of mistakes, and our picture was bad, After that, an extraordinary defense and offensively we played our best twenty minutes of the season. I’m so happy because of that. Energy, fight, and the body language was very good”, head coach Dejan Radonjic said after the win.
The Lithuanian team didn’t have anybody on double digits except Rolands Smits. The Latvian forward continues his good moment, ending the game with 11 points and 5 rebounds.
“What a strange game, I’ve never had it in my career. I haven’t seen numbers like these even when I started my career in youth basketball. Panathinaikos played better and better, gained confidence, and won the game”, Kazys Maksvytis said in the post-game press conference.
After four consecutive wins, Zalgiris Kaunas got stopped. Panathinaikos, instead, gets back on the winning side after losing on the road against Virtus Bologna.
After getting the win in Lithuania in Round 11, Panathinaikos beats the green-and-white opponents at home as well.
Panathinaikos sidelined Nikos Pappas and Lefteris Bochoridis. The Lithuanian side, instead, didn’t have both Keenan Evans, who will miss the rest of the season after suffering an Achilles injury, and his replacement Isaiah Taylor, who has suffered a hamstring injury.
Also, Kazys Maksvytis didn’t have Tyler Cavanaugh, who will remain out until late April after undergoing back surgery, and Liutauras Lelevicius, who is sidelined with a leg injury.
In Round 22, both teams will play far from their home. Zalgiris Kaunas (12-9) will visit the reigning champions of Anadolu Efes on February 1 at 18:30 CET, while Real Madrid will host Panathinaikos (8-13) on the same day at 20:45 CET.