Nunn set a EuroLeague record with 7 three-pointers in the first quarter
Nunn's 39 points leads Panathinaikos past Milan, 103-74
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens left no doubt about its power by thrashing EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 103-74 at OAKA Altion in Round 16 on Tuesday. Both teams now have 9-7 records in the standings. The result also put an end to Milan's six-game winning streak.
Kendrick Nunn paced the winners with a career-high and EuroLeague season-high 39 points. He set a EuroLeague record with 7 three-pointer in the first quarter. Jerian Grant added 12 points for Panathinaikos. Nikola Mirotic led Milan with 16 points. Neno Dimitrijevic added 15 while Nico Mannion and Shavon Shields each had 11 for the visitors.
Game Videos
Juancho Hernangomez got Panathinaikos going with a layup and Grant scored twice in a 14-0 game-opening run highlighted by Nunn's ankle-breaking three-pointers, which sent Giampaolo Ricci and then Shields to the ground. Mirotic stepped up with a put-back layup that Nunn bettered with a bomb from downtown. Hernangomez took over with a put-back dunk and Panagiotis Kalaitzakis added a fastbreak basket that broke the game open, 21-4. Mirotic struck from downtown but an unstoppable Nunn buried three more shots from beyond the arc for a 33-9 score. Fabien Causeur joined the three-point shootout, Grant scored in penetration and Nunn sank his record-setting seventh triple. Dimitrijevic made a three to fix the score at 38-15 after 10 minutes.
Dimitrijevic kept pushing Milan early in the second quarter. Grant and Konstantinos Mitoglou each answered from beyond the arc for a 44-19 Panathinaikos cushion. Omer Yurtseven followed an alley-oop slam with a put-back layup and Cedi Osman nailed an off-balance shot that made it 50-21. Yurtseven added a jump hook, Mitoglou scored a fastbreak layup and Nunn boosted the lead to 56-24. Freddie Gillespie made a jump hook and Mannion added a floater for Milan. Nunn scored again and then Mannion and Shields each made a triple to get the visitors within 59-36. After Kostas Sloukas buried a three-pointer, Mirotic answered with a tip-in. Shields's buzzer-beating layup fixed the halftime score at 62-40.
Zach Leday took over with a power layup soon after the break. Nunn sank a mid-range jumper and Kalaitzakis added a corner triple for a 67-42 Panathinaikos margin. Mirotic answered from downtown, Nunn scored in the low post, then Mannion got Milan a bit closer, 69-48. Shields beat the shot clock with a jump hook and erased Lorenzo Brown's acrobatic shot with a driving layup. Mirotic stepped up with a fastbreak layup and Dimitrijevic swished a jumper that gave Milan hope at 74-56. Mathias Lessort stepped up for the Greens and Grant hit a high-arching three-pointer for a 79-58 Panathinaikos lead. Leday's poster dunk got the visitors within 79-60 after 30 minutes.
Nunn sank his eighth three-pointer early in the fourth quarter. Mitoglou also struck from beyond the arc to seal the outcome, 85-60. Nunn and Mannion exchanged floaters, then Sloukas took over with back-to-back three-pointers, as thousands of Panathinaikos fans sang Nunn's name out loud. Panathinaikos started to use longer possessions to run the game clock down. Yurtseven finished one of those with a three-pointer, Mirotic scored in penetration and Nunn gave the Greens a 99-66 lead with 2:40 left. Lessort put the Greens over the 100-point mark and Nunn rounded out a near-perfect performance in style with another jumper.