Panathinaikos knock down historical records in triumph over Zalgiris / News - Basketnews.com

Panathinaikos broke or tied several records on their way to their 8th EuroLeague win of the season, as the Greek side outscored Zalgiris Kaunas by 39 points in the second half of Thursday's game.

Credit: Vangelis Stolis Credit Vangelis Stolis

Panathinaikos Athens made a comeback of epic proportions against Zalgiris Kaunas on Thursday night.

Player of the Game EFF 27 Paris Lee Points 24 Accuracy 9-12 Rebounds 1 Assists 4

The Greek side was down by 15 (27-42) at half-time but managed to erase the deficit by the end of the third quarter and cruise to a comfortable 89-65 win.

"Our defense was extraordinary, and in offense, we played our best 20 minutes this season," coach Dejan Radonjic said in the postgame presser.

His squad relied on a partial score of 62-23 in the second half, tying the biggest margin any EuroLeague team has ever created (+39). Coincidentally, that team was Panathinaikos back in 2010.

The Greens were up by 39 at the end of their first half against German side Oldenburg (60-21) at OAKA. Zeljko Obradovic was coaching the team, while an all-star guard lineup was on the court: Dimitris Diamantidis, Vassilis Spanoulis, Drew Nicholas, and Sarunas Jasikevicius.

The second-best winning margin in 20 minutes of play belongs to 2011 Olympiacos Piraeus, who blasted Montepaschi Siena 47-9 in the first half of Game 1 for the playoff series that the Italians ended up winning.

PAO's stat line in the second half was impressive: 11/16 2PT shooting, 8/11 3PT shooting, 13/19 FTs, and 9 turnovers less than Zalgiris were enough to grant the hosts their 8th win of the season.

Moreover, according to Darius Garuolis, the 40-point swing (from 27-42 to 89-64) is the largest in EuroLeague history where the deficit was at least 15 points.

PAO's 37 points in the third quarter tied their all-time high, while the six-time EuroLeague champs won their first game by at least 20 points since 2021-22 Regular Season Round 6. That's a gap of 456 days.

Thank you for being with us! Subscribe to BN+ and browse ad-free.