Nunn stole the spotlight with 29 points as the Greens edged the visitors
Panathinaikos wins thriller against Barcelona, 90-89
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens got back to winning ways by edging FC Barcelona 90-89 at Oaka Altion to open the double-week in style on Tuesday night. Kendrick Nunn pulled off an extraordinary outing, netting a career-high 29 points, including two mid-court triples to beat the first and third-quarter buzzers. With this win, Panathinaikos improved its record to 8-5, while Barcelona extended its losing streak to four games and dropped to 7-6.
Nunn paced all scorers, with Lorenzo Brown netting a season-high 18 points and Mathias Lessort scoring 16, including a decisive free throw to clinch it at the end. Juan Nunez ended the game with a career-high 19 points, Jabari Parker netted 15, Alex Abrines scored 13 and Tomas Satoransky had 11.
Game Videos
Juancho Hernangomez opened the scoring with a bucket from inside before Brown and Parker traded midrange jumpers for an early 4-2 Panathinaikos lead. Satoransky and Parker netted a basket each, but Brown nailed one from beyond the arc and Lessort beat the buzzer with a rare long two for an 11-6 cushion. Then, Nunez took over off the bench and cut the difference to 13-11 with 5 unanswered points. Brown took his tally to 9 points from inside, but Nunez responded with a three-point play and Justin Anderson netted a triple to tie it, 19-19. Yet, Panathinaikos responded with back-to-back triples, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Nunn for a 25-19 lead after 10 minutes.
A Nunn triple was followed by a Nunez layup in traffic. Anderson nailed one from deep to cut the difference to 28-24. Lessort completed a three-point play, but Willy Hernangomez scored two straight buckets and Nunez took his tally to 12 points with another layup that brought Barcelona within 31-30. Then, Nunn and Anderson traded baskets before Satoransky gave the visitors their first lead of the game, 33-34, with a bucket from inside. Panathinaikos replied with Brown sinking a triple and Lessort scoring inside to put the hosts ahead, 38-36. Five points off the bench from Parker were followed by a jumper from Nunn before Joel Parra hit in transition, 40-43. Then, Parra scored again from inside, but Nunn added 4 points to his tally, including a buzzer-beating jumper to make it 45-45 at halftime.
Satoransky opened the third quarter with a triple but Jerian Grant and Lessort responded on the other end with a three-point play each to put Panathinaikos back in front, 51-48. The visitors replied with a 0-10 run, as Kevin Punter opened his account with a triple before 4 points from Vesely and a three from Abrines gave Barcelona a 51-58 lead. After Abrines and Brown exchanged triples, the former added 3 points from the line to his tally and Parker threw down a monster slam in traffic for a 55-66 lead. Panathinaikos responded, with Konstantinos Mitoglou netting a triple and Nunn scoring yet another midcourt three to beat the third-quarter buzzer and trim the deficit to 63-69 with 10 minutes to go.
Nunn started off the closing quarter the way he ended the third, netting back-to-back triples to tie it 69-69 for the hosts. Nunez responded with a floater to end Panathinaikos’s 9-0 run, but Mitoglou nailed another triple to put the Greeks ahead, 72-71. A layup from Nunn was followed by a three-pointer from Grant, but Nunez completed a three-point play that cut the difference to 77-74. Sloukas and Nunez traded scores inside before Nunn sank a long two-pointer for an 81-76 cushion. After Satoransky and Mitroglou exchanged triples, a bucket from Parker and a triple from Punter tied it at 84-84 with 1:35 left on the clock. Lessort got a massive steal on one end before throwing down a slam on the other for an 87-84 lead. A bucket from Vesely was followed by 3 made free throws by Nunn to maintain a 3-point cushion with 0:12 remaining. Abrines drew a foul and hit 3 of 3 to tie it at 89-89, but Lessort split free throws on the other end to win it for the Greens.