Jerian Grant ended up having a key role in the Greens coming out on top in Round 28
Panathinaikos leaned on its defense to take control against ASVEL
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Regular Season
Round 28 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens grabbed its 18th win of the season on Friday night, downing LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 85-67 at OAKA in Round 28. It was a much harder game than the final scoreline suggested, however, as ASVEL had a great first half and gave the Greens a lot of trouble.
ASVEL maximized its advantages in the opening 20 minutes, looking for Joffrey Lauvergne and Youssoupha Fall around the basket. The guests took 32 two-point shots before the break and pulled down 8 offensive rebounds. Panathinaikos was also out of focus, picking up 6 turnovers, missing 5 free-throw attempts, getting no steals and hitting just 4-of-12 shots from beyond the arc (33.3% 3FG). ASVEL had just 3 turnovers to go with 5 assists and 3 steals.
"Before the game, I told them that to play this kind of game is always difficult. You think you will win an easy game but there are experienced players on the other side and [they] play without stress," Panathinaikos head coach Ergin Ataman said after the game. "We didn't have good organization in the first half. We always gave them pick-and-roll scores."
Panathinaikos picked things up on defense
Everything changed after the break, with Panathinaikos's physicality and focus making the difference. ASVEL recorded as many as 11 second-half turnovers, only took 16 two-point shots (half as many as in the first half) and grabbed just 8 rebounds after the break, none of which were on the offensive end.
Panathinaikos ended up outrebounding ASVEL 39-26, grabbing 8 offensive rebounds in each half. The Greens were more focused in general, finding better shots. It had 8 assists and 7 steals after the break, hitting 7-of-17 three-pointers (41.2% 3FG) and all 8 of its free-throw attempts.
Grant led the Greens' charge
Jerian Grant played a huge role in this turnaround, scoring 15 of his career-high 21 points after the break. Grant, the 2022-23 BKT EuroCup MVP with Turk Telekom Ankara, also had a career-best PIR of 25.
"We just changed our energy level. Coach [Ataman] said not to panic and all of our players knew that we weren't going to panic. We went out there, played our game and we did that," Grant said. "Maybe it is the jerseys, but we are playing well right now and we just want to continue [like this]."
Panathinaikos is now on a three-game winning streak and has chained together seven straight wins at OAKA, but next week it visits archrival Olympiacos Piraeus in Round 29. Olympiacos has won six of its last seven games, which makes this vital showdown in the playoff race even more epic and interesting.
"Of course, it is a very important game. It is a derby game against Olympiacos, and it is very important because they are very close in the points [standings]," commented Coach Ataman.
"Also, they played great in the last three or four games, winning all of them. Six more games [left in the regular season]and every game will be a final. There is a big race of five or six teams for the second, third and fourth positions, so we will go step by step. Of course, after the game, I will immediately start to think about the next step."