Dwayne Bacon: 'We got a lot of guys that people can't defend' / News - Basketnews.com

After Panathinaikos beat Zalgiris in Kaunas, Dwayne Bacon reflected on how his team has been progressing since he joined in.

Credit: Erikas Ovčarenko/BNS Credit Erikas Ovčarenko/BNS

Panathinaikos Athens secured an impressive road win on Friday night by downing Zalgiris Kaunas 81-67, making it three straight wins for the resurgent Greek giant, which improved to 5-6.

Player of the Game EFF 30 Derrick Williams Points 25 Accuracy 8-12 Rebounds 5 Assists 2

A near-perfect first quarter saw Panathinaikos establish a double-digit lead, which was extended to 36-18 midway through the second. Zalgiris found its offense towards the end of the third quarter and came back to make it 58-62, but Panathinaikos had enough resolve to pull clear again and enjoy a comfortable finale.

Derrick Williams was the inspiration with 26 points, while Dwayne Bacon added 19 points for the winning side.

Panathinaikos have started to turn things around since the arrival of forward Dwayne Bacon. The 27-year-old played in his first game for the Greens in Round 6, and since then the team has had a 3-2 record after going 1-4 in its first five fixtures.

Bacon had averaged 18.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and a PIR of 16.0 in his first five games, but against LCLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in Round 10, he had a couple of career-highs with 25 points and a PIR of 26. At Zalgirio Arena on Friday night, the former NBA player went 7/17 from the field, but managed to hit several big shots.

"In the first half, we came out strong and defended well. In the second half, they made a great push, had great momentum," Bacon pointed out postgame.

"This is a great atmosphere to play in and these guys have got some real fans, so we knew they were going to make a push, but we stayed strong, stayed comforting one another," Bacon continued.

"Derrick [Williams] hit some big shots, him and Nate [Wolters], and we came out with the win."

The former Monaco swingman repeated that Panathinaikos had put together a team that was "good" before he arrived. However, Bacon thinks he was the missing piece that completed the puzzle, the one "that could take some attention away from other guys and give them a lane to play well."

"When you've got a lot of guys that people can’t defend, it's good for the team. People can't defend Derrick and they double him, PG [Giorgos Papagiannis] is a great player as well, Paris [Lee], Nate… We've got a lot of guys that can do some great things with the ball and we're all gelling together right now," Bacon thinks.

"It doesn’t matter who takes the shots, who has the most points; we're just trying to win games and take it one day at a time."

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