The reigning champion thrived on perimeter power and fan support to beat Fenerbahce
Panathinaikos dug deep to overcome adversity on Tuesday
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Regular Season
Round 25 of 34
Group Regular Season
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The long-term absence of injured big men is hurting Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens but the defending Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion has been able to rely on its vast resources in battling the void in the paint.
Against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, veteran guard Kostas Sloukas and top scorer Kendrick Nunn stepped up to the plate by combining for 40 points as the Greens made 10 of 22 shots from downtown, while forward Juancho Hernangomez also came up big with a tally of 15 points and 8 boards in the 91-90 home win.
Wenyen Gabriel, the only natural center remaining on the roster after injuries sidelined Mathias Lessort and Omer Yurtseven, made a flying start as he racked up 8 points and 3 boards in the first quarter, but ultimately it was Sloukas and Nunn who did the damage.
Sloukas scored a game-high 23 points and picked up 5 rebounds while Nunn added 17 points - 13 of them in the second half, as Panathinaikos ground out a fortuitous win in the dying seconds. Nunn also dished out 7 assists while Sloukas marshaled Panathinaikos superbly from start to finish, playing a big part on defense too as he managed a crucial late steal that allowed the Greens to force the final twist.
Hernangomez, who also made some clutch shots in the third quarter, elaborated just how pivotal the backcourt firepower was in making up for the absence of muscle in the paint, adding that team spirit was just as crucial with Lessort, Yurtseven and Kostas Anthetokoumpo unavailable.
It’s the ‘next man’ mentality,” the versatile Spanish forward said in his postgame comments.
“Omer, Mathias and Kostas are huge players for us, but they are not here and that means we have to do more things. As for Sloukas and Nunn, they are a great duo and when they go out there they do their magic.”
Nunn, who’s been struggling from long range recently, turned facilitator in the opening three quarters before sinking a pair of clutch threes in the fourth as he went the distance despite playing much of the second half on 4 personal fouls. Nunn’s effort prompted head coach Ergin Ataman to point out how vital the shooting guard’s presence was.
“Nunn was held to 4 points until the fourth quarter but that kind of a player will find a way to score and that’s why I kept him on the court throughout despite him being on 4 fouls. He sank a pair of critical shots which put us up by 5 points in the last 2 minutes,” the Turkish tactician told the postgame press conference, having also emphasized the importance of winning when his team’s performance left a lot to be desired.
“I am not entirely satisfied with the tactical and technical level of the basketball that we played,” he said. “Every time we had a chance to take control of the game, we committed turnovers and missed open shots and we gave them a chance to win. But we played aggressive defense on their last two possessions and then we got lucky as they committed an unnecessary foul with one second left. It’s important to be able to win a game like that without playing well.”
The result lifted Panathinaikos into fourth place with a 15-10 record ahead of Thursday’s home game against Ataman’s former club Anadolu Efes Istanbul and the 59-year-old coach, who won back-to-back titles with Efes in 2021 and 2022 before taking over the Greens in 2023, was clear that there was no room for error in the home straight of the regular season.
“It’s extremely important to win all our home games for the remainder of the season, starting with Efes on Thursday,” Ataman said. “They are a very good team, as they have shown by beating Real Madrid [79-73 on Tuesday]. We are missing some big players but we can compensate for that by using the home-court advantage, feeding on the atmosphere our fans create.”
With a dramatic climax to the regular season looming as the battle for the top spots intensifies, Ataman will be keen to complete a week’s double over Turkish opposition in a bid to keep Panathinaikos on course to earn home-court advantage in the playoffs.