The guard was magnificent in the first quarter to set the tone for Panathinaikos
Kendrick Nunn enjoyed record night at OAKA
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Regular Season
Round 16 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Reigning EuroLeague champion Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens erupted on Tuesday night behind the might of Kendrick Nunn to record a 103-74 thrashing of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan at OAKA Altion in Round 16.
The Greens set the tone in a historic first quarter with a 38-15 margin in the opening 10 minutes. Nunn provided the fireworks, making 7 three-pointers in that first quarter, which set a new competition record for most three-pointers in a quarter. Six players had shared the previous mark with 6 three-pointers in a quarter: Thomas Kelati, Marcelinho Huertas, Linas Kleiza, Jaycee Carroll, Kyle Kuric and Mario Hezonja. Nunn is now ahead of this pack.
Moreover, Nunn's 21 points tied for the highest individual score ever in a quarter. Before him, Toney Douglas scored 21 points in the fourth quarter for Anadolu Efes Istanbul against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul on January 19, 2018. Fenerbahce won the game 84-89.
Panathinaikos shattered its club record for most points in the first quarter, besting the 33 points it had against Khimki Moscow Region in the 2018-19 season.
Nunn finished the game with a career-high 39 points, 7 rebounds and a personal-best PIR of 37. It was his first 30+ point game in the competition: his previous scoring best was 29 against FC Barcelona two weeks ago. He missed a chance to set the club record for most points in a game. Tyrese Rice still holds the record with 41 points in a 99-93 home win against Olympiacos Piraeus on December 6, 2019. It was this season's most points scored in a game, too.
Milan arrived to OAKA on a six-game winning streak but was overwhelmed, especially in the first and fourth quarters. Panathinaikos outrebounded Milan 40-21, made 17 of 32 three-pointers (53.1%) and had 26 assists, 11 more than its opponent. After the game, Nunn celebrated his great performances, but said that he believes that the best is yet to come.
"We needed that one. We needed that energy, that spark, and we are moving in the right direction. We are in a double week- We are going to take this victory and shelve it, and we got another one on Thursday," Nunn said. "It was a statement night. We started off defensively very well and that's what ignites our offense. So we keep that up, we will be good."
Milan head coach Ettore Messina joked about the fact that Nunn was suspended in Round 15 and had a career-best performances against his team.
"Hopefully, if you pass me the joke, next time we play [against] Nunn, we hope that the EuroLeague doesn't make him nervous with suspension or whatever because man, he was all over the place tonight," Messina said. "So congratulations to them, and we move on."