The Frenchman scored 8 of his 22 points in the final 3 minutes of the game
Clutch Evan Fournier decided the Greek derby in style
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Regular Season
Round 8 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Friday night's Greek derby between Olympiacos Piraeus and Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, Round 8's Rivalry Series game, will live long in the memory. And not just for Evan Fournier's fourth-quarter heroics.
In what was the 22nd time that these two archrivals had met in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague this century, the fans at OAKA witnessed the highest-scoring non-overtime Greek derby in the modern EuroLeague.
Olympiacos led for all but a few moments of a 40-minute, high-quality clash, and eventually downed Panathinaikos 89-94.
Apart from the unusually high-scoring affair in an emotionally charged environment, what really stood out on the night was the number of players from both teams taking turns to fuel their respective teams' runs.
First it was Luca Vildoza and Sasha Vezenkov giving a spark to the Reds' offense in the opening 10 minutes, then Nikola Milutinov, Shaq McKissic and Nigel Williams-Goss stepping up in the second quarter to give the visitors a 13-point lead.
For Panathinaikos, it was Juancho Hernangomez and Kendrick Nunn giving the hosts a boost before Kostas Sloukas almost single-handedly halved the deficit just before the halftime.
Mathias Lessort led the Greens' charge in the third quarter, with Hernangomez and Nunn hitting from long range, but the Reds remained in front thanks to Thomas Walkup feeding Vezenkov, who had 11 points in the third quarter.
Then, in the fourth, Panathinaikos kept chipping away at the lead as Cedi Osman did his part, while Nunn continued to score more big baskets. And as Panathinaikos finally took an 83-82 lead with 3:15 to go in the fourth quarter, it was Even Fournier's turn to step into the limelight.
"Every game is different based on what the team is doing," Fournier explained in a EuroLeague TV interview after the game.
"I can do many things, but I try not to force things and to answer when need me, like late in the possession."
And boy, did Fournier deliver when his team really needed him.
It's not as if the star guard was having a quiet night, either. Up until that point, Fournier had 14 points to his name, but then he nailed a long off-the-dribble, shot-clock-beating triple over the outstretched hand of Osman.
On Olympiacos's next trip down the floor, with the score tied at 85-85, Fournier nailed a jumper from the right corner, with his toes on the three-point line, which gave Olympiacos the lead for good with 2:10 to go.
But that was not all from Fournier in the game's key moments.
Entering the final minute, and after a missed shot by Nunn, Fournier dribbled the ball through Panathinaikos's paint, seemingly trying to get as much time off the clock.
However, once he was left all open on a three-pointer, despite still having 14 seconds on the shot clock and 52 seconds to play, Fournier kept his cool and knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the night, making it 85-92 and sealing the deal.
"It is a wonderful feeling, especially to win on the road," he said after his first Greek derby in the EuroLeague. "The atmosphere was great. It was a tough game, they have a lot of good players. I am proud because it is a team win."
And this one is worth a bit little more. On the road, against an archrival which happens to be the reigning champion. And Olympiacos has Fournier to thank, as he delivered when it mattered most.