Sasha Vezenkov and Evan Fournier combined for 46 points
Olympiacos holds off Efes to grab 92-89 win
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Olympiacos Piraeus got back to winning ways by beating Anadolu Efes Istanbul 92-89 on Friday night at the Peace and Friendship Stadium. The Reds led from start to finish and even secured an 83-65 cushion with 6:29 minutes remaining. Efes responded with a late 5-18 surge to get back into the game (90-87), but the hosts sealed the outcome from the free-throw line. The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague leader protected its home court and improved to 17-7, with Efes dropping to 11-13.
Sasha Vezenkov led all scorers with 26 points, with Evan Fournier and Nikola Milutinov scoring 20 and 11, respectively. Elijah Bryant paced Efes with 21 points. Jordan Nwora and PJ Dozier netted 12 apiece, with Dan Oturu adding 10.
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Moustapha Fall opened the scoring from inside before four points from Vezenkov and a slam from the former gave Olympiacos an 8-5 lead. Bryant and Rodrigue Beaubois opened their accounts on the other end, but five points from Fournier and another basket by Vezenkov allowed the hosts to maintain a 15-10 cushion. Nigel Williams-Goss and Bryant traded triples off the glass, but Olympiacos ended the first quarter with a 9-0 run fueled by Fournier and Kostas Papanikolaou, who made it 29-14 from the line.
Dozier completed a three-point play, but Milutinov answered with back-to-back dunks to restore a 33-19 lead. Alec Peters responded with a triple to a midrange jumper from Dozier, but a Larkin three-pointer and seven points from Nwora slashed the difference to 41-37. Papanikolaou and Nwora traded triples before a couple of free throws by Shaquielle McKissic gave Olympiacos a 47-40 cushion at halftime.
Bryant and Poirier opened the third quarter with buckets inside, but Vezenkov’s triple was followed by back-to-back three-point plays from Williams-Goss and Fournier, who opened a 56-46 lead. Rolands Smits replied with five straight points before a jumper by Oturu brought Efes within 60-53. With both teams in foul trouble, the game turned into a free-throw contest before buckets from Bryant and Ercan Osmani cut the margin to 64-59. Yet, four points from Vezenkov and an inside score by Milutinov gave Olympiacos a 74-61 cushion heading into the closing quarter.
Milutinov and Thompson exchanged baskets before five points from Vezenkov extended Olympiacos’s lead to 83-65. Bryant netted four straight points, but Vezenkov nailed a layup in transition to make it 85-69. Efes fired on all cylinders in the closing stages and responded with a 5-18 run inspired by Bryant, who took his tally to 21 points from deep and brought Efes within 90-87. Yet, Williams-Goss went 2 for 2 from the line to seal the outcome.