Although they were not at their best, the Greens dug deep into their resources to get past Crvena Zvezda
Resilience saved the day for battling Panathinaikos
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Regular Season
Round 7 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens was forced to draw on its wealth of experience and depth in a titanic tussle against Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade to come out on top, 77-81, in an enthralling Round 7 matchup.
Zvezda was in the driving seat for 38 minutes, having carved out a commanding 44-30 lead late in the first half and then led by 14 again, 52-38, early in the second. However, Panathinaikos showed what champions are made of as the Greens managed to close in and turn the game around in the final 67 seconds, notching their third win in a row.
Five visiting players finished in double digits and although Mathias Lessort was not one of them, the explosive center claimed player of the game honors with 9 points and as many boards.
Most of his baskets were trademark slam dunks which pumped up Panathinaikos and kept the visiting team’s challenge alive when Zvezda looked likely to snap its three-game losing skid, which became a four-game unwanted streak after Kendrick Nunn sealed the contest with a pair of free throws.
“I wasn’t at my best today but my teammates had my back and that’s how this team does it,” Lessort said in a post-game courtside interview. “It’s a big win for us because this is a tough environment to play in. We got the job done and we can go home now.”
Propelled by a galvanized Isaiah Canaan, who scored a game-high 20 points including 14 in a frantic five-minute spell in the second quarter, Zvezda shot the lights out from deep as the hosts nailed 15 of 30 from downtown but made only 12 of 26 from two-point range.
In contrast, Panathinaikos sank 23 of 39 from two-point territory and won the battle of the boards 36-26, as the visiting team’s physicality in the paint proved decisive when the chips were down. The Greens’ head coach Ergin Ataman praised his team’s resolve in the face of adversity.
“We were down by 14 points in the second half but we came back defensively and as far as [our] offense is concerned, Kostas Sloukas managed very well alongside Lorenzo Brown and Kendrick Nunn,” said the Turkish tactician.
“Zvezda played very well, they scored 15 three-pointers on 50% shooting from downtown, but we played very smart in the last part of the game. Congratulations to the players, they showed great character in this kind of atmosphere.”
Panathinaikos forward Juancho Hernangomez succinctly summed up the Greek outfit’s die-hard mentality. “That’s what great teams do,” he stated. “No matter how well we play at the end of the day, we need to win games – and we got an important one on the road.”
In Round 8 next week, Panathinaikos locks horns with eternal Greek rival Olympiacos Piraeus at home, having beaten the Reds on the road in the Greek League, 71-78, last Sunday. Zvezda will have a chance to get back to winning ways when it hosts ALBA Berlin, which is rooted to the bottom of the standings with a 1-6 record.