By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Paris had beaten Olympiacos on the road and the Reds simply returned the favor.
The final 90-73 left Olympiacos all alone on top of the standings with an 18-7 record, while Paris, at 14-10, dropped for the moment out on the 7th spot of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings.
Sasha Vezenkov with 23 points, Evan Fournier with 18, and Nigel Williams-Goss with 14, six rebounds, and three assists led the Reds to the win.
“I want to thank also our fans,” said coach Giorgos Bartzokas as 1.500 Olympiacos fans were present in the game, traveling to Paris from Greece.
On the other side, Nadir Hifi, with 19 points, was the top scorer of Paris, and TJ Shorts, with 15 and nine assists, was the backbone of the team.
Olympiacos in control
Olympiacos was simply unstoppable in the first half, leading 30-15 after the first period with Vezenkov already scoring 17 points and extending the lead to 20 (44-24) after a three by Giannoulis Larentzakis.
The halftime score was 48-31 in favor of the Reds. However, Paris managed to close the gap to nine points (49-40) to start the second half after a three by Tyson Ward.
With his first made shot of the second half, Vezenkov pushed the lead back to 15 (59-44), but Paris answered with their own 8-2 run to close the gap again (61-52) and then to seven (65-58) after an unsportsmanlike foul of Nigel Williams-Goss to Nadif Hifi.
There was tension on the court, underlined by a technical foul to Paris coach Tiago Splitter, and everything could happen.
The score was 67-58 at the start of the fourth period and Paris made the last effort for a comeback, with TJ Shorts trimming the lead to six (71-65).
Olympiacos reacted, the tables were turned, Hifi was called for an unsportsmanlike foul, and after a big three by Williams-Goss and two more free throws by him, the Greeks were up by 15 again (82-67) with three minutes left and the game was over.