The Reds most experienced players played big roles in Game 5
Milutinov, Papanikolaou came up huge on Olympiacos's historic night
Article
3 Mins read
Olympiacos is going to its third straight Final Four, which is the first time it has been done in club history. It did so by beating FC Barcelona in Game 5 on the road, something no team has managed to do in EuroLeague playoff history before Wednesday night.
Those tremendous feats were accomplished thanks in great part to the two Olympiacos players with the most EuroLeague experience – Kostas Papanikolaou and Nikola Milutinov – who each shined in a momentous 59-63 victory at Palau Blaugrana.
The two players who have more than 580 EuroLeague appearances between them have something else in common. They both missed the better part of this dramatic, hard-fought series.
Papanikolaou was out the first three games and then refused to sit out Game 4 when Olympiacos was down 1-2 in the series.
After being sidelined for more than two months due to a foot fracture that required surgery, Milutinov only played a combined 13 minutes in the first two games of the series, and missed Game 3.
But Milutinov found his footing in Game 4 and then dominated in Game 5.
"This is a group of champions", coach Georgios Bartzokas praised his players after the victory. But in this team effort, the performances of Milutinov and Papanikolaou were those that stood out.
Milutinov finished the game with 10 points and 10 rebounds. His Barcelona counterparts Jan Vesely and Willy Hernangomez combined for 15 points, 4 rebounds and 7 turnovers.
Papanikolaou, on the other hand, was more than the team leader. He also made some clutch shots along the way.
The Olympiacos captain made a triple in the final minute of the third quarter to tie the game at 40-40, the first time Olympiacos had tied the game after the first quarter. Then he nailed another three, his third of the nigh, with 2:25 to go on the clock, opening a 49-57 margin.
Game Videos
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Paris Basketball | RS Round 14 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Reds go stealing and dunking! Motorola Magic Moment
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Jabari Parker: 'I think we wanted it more'
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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv-FC Barcelona | RS Round 14 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:16
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Anderson with an impossible basket! Motorola Magic Moment
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Vesely slams it with fury! Motorola Magic Moment
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Parker’s one-handed slam! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:43
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Shaq McKissic: 'I appreciate Coach for allowing me to play through my mistakes'
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AS Monaco-Olympiacos Piraeus | RS Round 13 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens-FC Barcelona | RS Round 13 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:12
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Anderson rejects Brown with force! Motorola Magic Moment
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Parker throws it down with fury! Motorola Magic Moment
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FC Barcelona-Real Madrid | RS Round 12 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade-Olympiacos Piraeus | RS Round 12 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Parra with the huge block! Motorola Magic Moment
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FC Bayern Munich-FC Barcelona | RS Round 11 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | RS Round 11 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 01:15
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Evan Fournier: 'It's a privilege and a pleasure to play in front of these fans’
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FC Barcelona-Paris Basketball | RS Round 10 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Satoransky flies to the rim! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
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Satoransky throws it down! Motorola Magic Moment
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Sasha Vezenkov: 'We are more than happy'
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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv–Olympiacos Piraeus | RS Round 10 highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade-FC Barcelona | RS Round 9 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Alex Abrines: 'I was mad, I was mad at us'
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Metu's big block! Motorola Magic Moment
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Metu destroys the rim! Motorola Magic Moment
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Vesely’s dunk…and one! Motorola Magic Moment
- 01:00
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Nikola Milutinov: 'This is why the EuroLeague is so strong'
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Olympiacos Piraeus-LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne | RS Round 9 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Straight from the court: Fournier and Vezenkov analyze Greek derby outcome | Post-game show
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Jan Vesely | RS Round 8 MVP | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Joan Penarroya: 'It's important to win at home'
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FC Barcelona-Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | RS Round 8 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens-Olympiacos Piraeus | RS Round 8 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 01:23
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Sasha Vezenkov: 'I missed this derby so much'
- 01:42
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Shaq McKissic relives his best Greek derby plays
- 01:06
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Nikola Milutinov: 'We showed what we can do'
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Olympiacos Piraeus-FC Barcelona | RS Round 7 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:11
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Hernangomez dunks off a Punter pass! Motorola Magic Moment
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McKissic detonates the dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:30
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Nunez's magic assist! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Real Madrid | RS Round 6 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 01:39
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Sasha Vezenkov: 'We are good players, we just need to become a good team'
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul-FC Barcelona | RS Round 6 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Kevin Punter: 'We're finding that chemistry'
- 00:12
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Nunez's magic assist! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:12
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Punter beats the buzzer! Motorola Magic Moment
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Jan Vesely: 'Shout-out to Dame Sarr, he brought the energy'
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FC Barcelona-LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne | RS Round 5 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
Milutinov had a tip-in early in the fourth, and also made an important steal when Barcelona had a possession to make it a 6- or 7-point affair with 6 minutes to go. Milutinov drew 3 fouls in the fourth quarter, almost single-handedly leaving Barcelona without fouls to give, then had a key offensive rebound in the final minute of the game.
Both players put the icing on the cake in the final 20 seconds. Milutinov had a dunk for a 54-59 lead and Papanikolaou made a steal and 2 free throws to ice the game with 7 seconds remaining, finishing with 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
"When we started to lead, there was no chance for us to lose the game", Bartzokas said to the TV cameras after the win.
Because of the efforts of Papanikolaou and Milutinov, that statement remained true, and Olympiacos is heading to Berlin for the 2024 Final Four.