Sloukas nails a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, carrying Olympiacos to an OT victory over Efes / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Olympiacos Piraeus (14-9) hosted the reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champions Anadolu Efes Istanbul (12-12), edging them out after a tight battle 87-85 (26-17, 16-24, 19-20, 14-14, 12-10).

Player of the Game EFF 23 Konstantinos Sloukas Points 23 Accuracy 8-16 Rebounds 5 Assists 6

Efes completed an 8-0 run, extending from the end of the third quarter, gaining a four-point advantage (65-61). Krunoslav Simon, who recorded an unsportsmanlike foul in the first half, was called for a technical foul, getting ejected from the game and letting Olympiacos regain an advantage (68-67).

However, Vasilije Micic responded with a layup, tying it all up at 75 with 14 seconds remaining. Dorsey had a chance to win it for Olympiacos, but his last-second attempt was off the mark, and the game went into overtime.

Shane Larkin scored his first field goal of the game with a 3-pointer, but Dorsey responded with back-to-back buckets, giving the hosts a three-point lead (81-78). Larkin and Dorsey traded buckets again, with Efes leading by one (85-84).

Olympiacos had the privilege to the last possession of the contest, with Kostas Sloukas hitting a last-second buzzer-beating 3-pointer to carry his team to a two-point victory.

This was the first time Olympiacos beat Efes since December of 2018. Efes won all six contests during that stretch.

Sloukas finished with 23 points (4/10 2PT, 4/6 3PT, 3/3 FT), 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 5 turnovers, and 23 PIR.

"First of all, I feel really good and really proud of my team because we fought against the world, the EuroLeague champions," Sloukas said. "It was a must-win game, and I think that we are very happy. The difficult decision was not the shot. I made a fake because [defender Adrien] Moerman will normally fly [on the fake], and OK, I scored."

Free throws this season

79%13,1Points made:13,1Accuracy:78,8%Place in standings:6Record max:22Record min:5Most made FTs:Tyler DorseyTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

Vasilije Micic finished with a double-double, posting 12 points (4/6 2PT, 1/7 3PT, 1/1 FT), 13 assists, 3 rebounds, and 25 PIR.

The game was tied at 12 in the first period, but Olympiacos went on a 7-0 run to gain a seven-point cushion (19-12). Kostas Sloukas capped the quarter off with a 3-pointer, giving his team a nine-point advantage (26-17).

Efes went on a 10-0 run in the second to regain a one-point advantage (38-37), but Olympiacos regained a narrow lead going into halftime (42-41).

Both clubs went back and forth in the third period. The hosts managed to gain a five-point cushion towards the end of the quarter (61-56), but Efes finished it off with five unanswered points to tie the game at 61 going into the final period.

"I felt that we had a lot of opportunities during the regular time to finish the game," coach Bartzokas said post-game. "We missed a lot of open shots. Obviously, we have a lot of pressure. But finally, we managed to win through this big shot of Kostas [Sloukas]. A fantastic end to this game for us."

Olympiacos: Kostas Sloukas 23 (6 AST), Tyler Dorsey 19, Sasha Vezenkov 16 (9 REB), Moustapha Fall 10 (5 REB), Shaquielle McKissic 6 (7 REB).

Efes: Tibor Pleiss 14, Rodrigue Beaubois 13, Vasilije Micic 12 (13 AST), Shane Larkin 11 (5 REB), Adrien Moerman 11 (8 REB), Bryant Dunston 9, Krunoslav Simon 8.

Highlights:

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