By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos Athens delivered arguably its top performance in 2023-24 so far to register a 96 – 87 win at Real Madrid and become the first team to beat the EuroLeague defending champions in their home court this season.
The trio of Mathias Lessort (career-high 26 points, seven rebounds, four assists), Kendrick Nunn (17 points, seven assists) and Kostas Sloukas (16 points, six assists) worked wonders for Panathinaikos, cooperating in ideal harmony and hitting big shots in critical moments. Marius Grigonis added 11 points and some decisive actions down the stretch
With Panathinaikos up 85 – 80 and three minutes to play, Grigonis hit a triple and then stole the ball, ran the floor and gave the pass to Lessort who dunked to put their team up by double figures. Real couldn’t come back from that margin and their opponents were just too good to let it away.
“I had PTSD when I came here,” Lessort said, referring to the brawl that took place in Game 2 of the 2023 EuroLeague playoffs between Real and Partizan. “We stayed strong. It’s a big win. We know how hard it is to beat this team here. They’re playing amazing. It was a great way for us to come back after the break.”
Guerschon Yabusele scored 18 points and five rebounds while Dzanan Musa dropped 16 points, 12 of them in the fourth period for Real Madrid. Their team started the game on a roll and got a 22-13 lead in the first period before Panathinaikos came back quickly to go ahead 24 – 25.
“For us it’s very important victory, an extra victory,” Panathinaikos coach Ergin Ataman said. “Except the first quarter, we played great basketball. We shared the ball and we moved the ball. Kostas Sloukas‘ contribution was very important after his return from injury. Now we play his basketball. He’s very important for us with his scoring and assists. Others played great defense too.”
Panathinaikos went up 45 – 36 at the break taking advantage of the many Real turnovers (13 in the first half) and scoring transition buckets off of them. The hosts responded to claim the advantage again, making it 52 – 50. The game remained close until the last minutes.
“It’s not easy to win so many games in the EuroLeague regular season,” Rea Madrid coach Chus Mateo said. “They played better than us, with more energy. They deserved the victory. We keep building from the next game.”