By Antonis Stroggylakis / info@eurohoops.net
Things weren’t looking bright for Olympiacos Piraeus in the start of the fourth period of the EuroLeague home game against Partizan Belgrade.
Partizan held a steady advantage after the start of the second half and were leading 54 – 62 one minute into the final quarter. Nick Calathes then forced Tyler Dorsey to commit a traveling violation, providing the Serbian side with a potential opportunity to go up by double figures.
“What is the fu–ing problem to listen to what I say,” Olympiacos coach Giorgos Bartzokas told his players during the timeout following that turnover, fuming with frustration.
It was a critical moment for the hosts as pressure began mounting on the them. For Olympiacos veteran swingman Shaq McKissic though, that was when the real fun started.
“Back against the wall. Down 8 points. It’s time to fight,” McKissic told Eurohoops. “This is when it’s the time to fight, not when you are up 20 and you can take every shot. It’s when the pressure is like this and you play in front of your home crowd.”
“Let’s see who has the biggest ‘cojones’ to take the game,” McKissic added. Olympiacos went on grab a 80 – 71 victory behind a 16-3 run over the last four minutes.
“That was a tough win. That was a fun win. When I was out there, breathing hard, I was like, OK this feels like real basketbal” for me, since I hadn’t played for so long.” The 35-year-old had missed the first five games of the new EuroLeague season due to an adductor issue.
McKissic had multiple reasons he enjoyed this hard-earned win for Olympiacos apart from the result itself and the fact that he and his teammates had to rally for a comeback down the stretch. What made it extra entertaining for him was all the trash talk he heard from the players of Partizan.
“You know, they were talking a lot and I appreciate that,” McKissic said. “It made it fun. The Partizan players. It made it really fun. They thought they were gonna win. They were really confident but… I knew how it’s gonna end. I’ve seen that play out many times.”
“They were talking a lot and I appreciate that, it made it fun. The Partizan players. It made it really fun”
Shaq McKissic on the “cojones” of Olympiacos vs. Partizan and why it was a “fun win” for him pic.twitter.com/6Mot6OlDKu
— Antonis Stroggylakis (@AStroggylakis) November 8, 2025
After going up 41 – 39 early in the second half, Olympiacos fell behind and kept trailing. They Reds were having a subpar night, commiting many turnovers and being unable to connect to the basket from any range.
Olympiacos players were laying bricks, for the most part, so they had to at least erect a brick wall on the defensive end to make up for their offensive inneficiency.
McKissic entered the stage from the bench halfway through the third period to bring his defensive tenacity, energy, fighting attitude and experience in helping transform the momentum of a game through stops. He ended up being the only Olympiacos players to spend the last 15 minutes on the floor for a season-high 19:03.
Down the stretch, McKissic had two out of his game-high four steals – and they both led to crucial buckets. His positioned himself in front of Bruno Fernando to intercept the pass for the Partizan big man and, on the other end, Thomas Walkup drilled the go-ahead triple for the 69 – 68. Two minutes later, he took advantage of bad pass by Duane Washington to snatch the ball, run the floor and finish with a slam that put his team up 73 – 71.
Along with Walkup and Nikola Milutinov, McKissic was one of the “toughs” that got going when the going had gone tough for Olympiacos.
“This is the new McKissic guy,” McKissic said when asked if that was a vintage performance by him. “I got a lot of rest during the week. And then for 15, sometimes for 10, sometimes for 5 minutes I just turn on the jets and I just cool them after the game and I’m OK with that. We got a lot of guys and the coach had a tough job of figuring out who’s going to play. I understand the process.
This was a short of an “ugly” win for Olympiacos, the second in a row that arrives after a mostly poor performance overall following the one over Hapoel Tel Aviv. McKissic trusts that time will benefit his team and make the players click with each other more smoothly to
“Chemistry,” McKissic said on what Olympiacos needs right now. “We got a lot of new guys that are gaining experience. Like Tyson [Ward]. He has to get used to a new role. And it’s a very tough role. I had the similar role for year. I know how frustrating it can be sometimes. But by each game he’s going to keep getting better and better. And bring the energy we know he can. He’s a hell of a player. Also Frank [Ntilikina] , he’s very long on the defensive end and we appreciate that too.”
While Olympiacos fans left Peace and Friendship stadium pleased with the win, they are now focused on finally seeing guard Keenan Evans in action. The American player is expected to make his long-awaited official debut with the team Sunday in the Greek League, after recovering from a knee injury.
He was previously sidelined for the entire 2024-25 season due to patellar tendon rupture he had suffered back in May 2024.
“You can see him really starting getting confidence with his body,” McKissic said. “He’s really an offensive specialist. That’s the only way I can describe him. It’s going fun watching how he’s going to be implemented. He’s a very efficient offensive players. He has a lot of moves.”