He inspired a comeback that saw Olympiacos improve to a 13-11 record.
Red-hot Isaiah Canaan produced career-high display to dispatch ALBA
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On Tuesday night, Isaiah Canaan scored a career-high 31 points to lead Olympiacos Piraeus to a 101-87 victory over ALBA Berlin in Round 24 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.
The 32-year-old went 9-for-14 from behind the arc, having come close to tying the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague record of three-pointers made (10). Canaan hit the ground running, netting 8 of his team’s first 12 points on the night.
“With the weather outside, you know it’s kind of cool, so why not bring some heat inside the gym,” Canaan joked after the game. “My teammates did a great job finding me and the ball was falling for me tonight. I just tried to give my team a boost to start this double-round week off [on the right foot].”
Canaan inspired the turnaround
Yet, Olympiacos struggled on defense and saw ALBA take a 45-48 lead into the second half. Enter Canaan, who stepped up after the break and netted 14 of his team’s 33 points in the third quarter, with Olympiacos heading into the fourth up by 17 (78-61).
“We were down at halftime,” Canaan added. “Coach [Georgios Bartzokas] got onto us at halftime. We were giving up too many points. We knew that we could play a lot better than what we were playing. We just needed to go out and showcase that. We did that in the third and carried it over to the fourth quarter.”
An impressive debut by Moses Wright
Seven of his teammates netted at least 5 points each, but the one who stood out most was new signing Moses Wright, who debuted in style. Despite having trained just once with his new teammates, the new Olympiacos center had a dream debut in Piraeus.
Wright didn’t get off to a strong start, however, and didn’t register a single point before the break, although explained afterward the reason behind his nervous first 20 minutes.
“In the first half I came out a little shaky, but in the second half, [after I] went to the locker room and gathered myself, I came out to do what I was supposed to do,” Wright said after the game.
And that’s exactly what he did. The 25-year-old center scored 15 second-half points, having gone 7-for-9 from inside the arc, including some big dunks that got the Olympiacos fans off their seats. Wright produced a complete performance on both ends, having also recorded 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks for a PIR of 23.
“Basketball is basketball,” he stated. “You practice, you work hard to get out at these levels and just show what you can do. So, [I realized] that there was no reason for me to be nervous. I put on all the hard work and just had to go out there and show it.”
That’s great news for Coach Bartzokas, who didn’t have Moustapha Fall, Filip Petrusev and Nikola Milutinov at his disposal due to injuries, with Wright being the only available natural center against ALBA.
After beating the German side, Olympiacos will look to build its momentum when it travels to take on ALBA’s domestic rival, FC Bayern Munich, on Thursday night.