By Antonis Stroggylakis / info@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos Piraeus bounced back to wins following a two-game skid by beating Zalgiris Kaunas 83-74 at home. It was the third victory of the season for the “Reds” that are now 3-5. The same record as Zalgiris‘.
Vassilis Spanoulis dropped a team-high 16 points and dished out seven assists for Olympiacos. The Reds’ captain also hit the back-to-back baskets that more or less sealed the win for Olympiacos, scoring for the 79 – 66 and 81 – 68 with 1:49 left to play. Zalgiris was unable to come back from this deficit.
Brandon Paul (14 points) previously gave Olympiacos its first double-digit lead in the match when he drained a 3-pointer for the 71 – 61. Less than two minutes afterward, the American player stole the ball and dunked in transition in a crucial sequence for his team.
Zalgiris had led 25 – 31 in the second period and was up 35 – 37 at the break thanks to Jock Landale, who scored 13 out of his season-high 23 points in the first half. The EuroLeague rookie from Australia registered his record in 19:13 minutes while shooting 7/8 2-pointers plus 1/3 triples. Lukas Lekavicius added 14 points for the Lithuanian side while Thomas Walkup had 10 points (2/9 shots) and five assists.
Threes and Miltutinov
Olympiacos began establishing a small yet steady lead when its players found their shooting touch in the second half. The hosts had 1/10 3-pointers in the first 21 minutes but went on to bury 5/6 from beyond the arc and ultimately finished with 8/26.
Nikola Milutinov contributed 14 points and eight rebounds for Olympiacos in front of San Antonio Spurs personnel that attended the game in Piraeus. Willie Reed was a factor with 10 points and two blocks in 14 minutes while Giorgos Printezis had 10 points en route to reaching the 3000-point mark in EuroLeague. He became just the third player to pass this number after Barcelona great Juan Carlos Navarro and Spanoulis.
“We did a great job; we played smart, we played together. We made some mistakes, and we made some bad decisions, but we were fighting, and I think we deserved this win. I’m happy for my players, and congratulations to them”, mentioned Olympiacos coach Kestutis Kemzura following the game.
Photo: EuroLeague