Splendid Dorsey-Vezenkov duo secures home-court advantage for Olympiacos / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Romain Biard/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Romain Biard/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Third-placed Olympiacos Piraeus (18-9) bounced back from Wednesday's heavy loss at Monaco after making the short journey north and facing LDCL ASVEL Villeurbanne (8-18).

Player of the Game EFF 26 Aleksandr Vezenkov Points 18 Accuracy 8-14 Rebounds 10 Assists 2

The Greek powerhouse eased past the hosts 96-80 (26-26, 21-17, 22-21, 25-16) and clinched the home-court advantage in the playoffs.

The first three quarters of the game went back and forth, neither team gaining a commanding lead. Though, inspired by Sasha Vezenkov, Tyler Dorsey, and Kostas Sloukas' buckets, Olympiacos changed the trend in the final tally.

Georgios Bartzokas' squad built a double-digit advantage (78-68). Tyler Dorsey and Sasha Vezenkov were trading baskets with Youssoupha Fall and it was a favorable scenario for Oly.

Moustapha Fall and Kostas Sloukas sealed the deal for the Greeks, draining a couple of shots in a row, gifting Olympiacos a 13-point lead with 1:25 to go in the game.

Tyler Dorsey poured in 21 points (6/9 2PT, 3/6 3PT) for the winners, adding 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 21 PIR to his performance.

Sasha Vezenkov had a double-double with 18 points (6/9 2PT, 2/5 3PT), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, and 26 PIR.

"Congratulations to our players, to our club, to our organization. It is a big time for our club because we are taking the home-court advantage, which is unbelievable. I am so grateful to our fans, who follow us all over Europe, to our players, and to our organization. Let's see: we have one more game with Barcelona on our homecourt, and then we are going to push ourselves to make whatever we can in the playoffs," commented Bartzokas post-game.

Matthew Strazel was a bright spot for the French club, accumulating 16 points (0/1 2PT, 5/9 3PT, 0/1 FT), 4 assists, and 19 PIR.

"Olympiacos is a great team. They play great basketball. You see the way they move the ball; simple plays, but all about reads. So you've got to give credit to Olympiacos," T.J. Parker said after the loss.

ASVEL were playing without 5 important players: James Gist, Victor Webanyama, Charles Kahudi, Paul Lacombe, and William Howard. They were saved for tomorrow's French Cup match.

Olympiacos: Tyler Dorsey 21 (7 REB), Sasha Vezenkov 18 (10 REB), Kostas Sloukas 15 (9 AST), Kostas Papanikolaou 11.

ASVEL: Matthew Strazel 16, Youssoupha Fall 12, Raymar Morgan 12, Dylan Osetkowski 11.

Highlights

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