The 30-year-old guard came up big to ignite the Reds' fightback against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade.
Unlikely hero Larentzakis lifted Olympiacos to epic victory
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A team packed with talent would normally rely on its key players to deliver the goods in a high-octane Turkish Airlines EuroLeague clash. This time, though, a role player stepped up to the plate for Olympiacos Piraeus as it grabbed an enthralling 98-94 home win over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in Round 4.
Giannoulis Larentzakis never looked like emerging as a game-changer in the titanic tussle at Peace and Friendship Stadium until he took over in the fourth quarter. In the final period of regulation, Olympiacos overturned a 14-point deficit and then survived a buzzer-beating triple from Partizan’s James Nunnally that forced overtime.
With Thomas Walkup shooting just 1-of-8 from behind the arc and Isiah Canaan subdued after a vintage opening half in which he scored 11 points, the home side desperately needed a trump card to get back into the contest.
Larentzakis became the hero
Out of the blue came Larentzakis, who galvanized the home crowd and his team with successive three-pointers, which rattled the visitors and gave Olympiacos a new lease of life. He scored 15 fourth-quarter points, one less than the entire Partizan team, before inspiring towering center Nikola Milutinov to join the party against his former club.
Moreover, Larentzakis showed nerves of steel from the foul line as he nailed all 9 of his free throws, including a pair in a dramatic overtime climax when the chips were down.
Olympiacos found an extra gear, despite absences
One would have expected Partizan to have more left in the tank in overtime as an injury-hit Olympiacos was missing three key players in Luke Sikma, Ignas Brazdeikis and Shaquielle McKissic. Roared on by a passionate home crowd, however, the hosts were left the last men standing at the end of a captivating clash which had all the makings of a playoff blockbuster.
The victory could not have come at a better time for Olympiacos, which was on the ropes after back-to-back defeats to FC Barcelona and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. The Reds bounced back superbly to improve to a 2-2 record, while Partizan slipped to 1-3.
Fittingly, Larentzakis finished as the night’s top scorer with 19 points, but he kept his feet on the ground in his post-game comments. “The most important thing is that we found a way to come back after being 14 points down,” he said. “The crowd gave us the energy, as they always do.”
Milutinov added: “We never give up, we always try to find a way to win the game. We put ourselves in a terrible situation [with] how we opened the second half. We cannot allow this if we want to be a serious contender and a serious team.”
Olympiacos can now look forward to a Round 5 home game against Anadolu Efes Istanbul with renewed confidence. Partizan, meanwhile, faces a daunting Belgrade derby against bitter foes Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade after suffering a second successive defeat, following its home setback against Barcelona in Round 3.