Exum's Barcelona dominate, making light work of visiting Panathinaikos / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Rodolfo Molina/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Rodolfo Molina/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

FC Barcelona (19-5) extended their winning streak at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague to three, easily taking care of Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (5-17) 86-60 (17-15, 28-10, 18-17, 23-18).

Player of the Game EFF 17 Nigel Hayes-Davis Points 14 Accuracy 4-7 Rebounds 3 Assists 1

It was a tight contest in the second half, with neither team gaining a significant advantage. However, it was a whole different story in the second, with Nigel Hayes-Davis leading Barcelona to an impressive 19-4 run to overwhelm Panathinaikos and more than double their score (43-21).

Barcelona continued asserting dominance and increasing their lead in the second half, with their advantage ballooning to as many as 28 points in the fourth. The Catalans ended up winning it by 26. Panathinaikos have yet to win a road game this season.

"We have to be very happy with some performances," Sarunas Jasikevicius mentioned after the game. "I think Nigel [Hayes-Davis], Dante [Exum], every time they are looking much better, Sergi [Martinez] was really solid, and overall, I think we achieved not just one win, but also confidence for some players, which is very important."

Nigel Hayes-Davis and Dante Exum were the dynamic duo for Barcelona. Hayes-Davis led the squad in scoring, finishing with 14 points (2/5 2PT, 2/2 3PT, 4/4 FT). He added 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover, and 17 PIR.

Exum played his most efficient EuroLeague contest, ending with 12 points (1/3 2PT, 2/3 3PT, 4/4 FT), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 block, and 8 PIR.

"I think it has been a long week for us, we had three games and wanted to come out firing," Exum said post-game. "That's what we came out and won. I think I am just going game by game, making sure I do what I do, going out there, hitting shots. As long as we are winning, that's all that matters, really."

It was a balanced effort for the winners. All 12 Barcelona players stepped on the floor tonight. 11 of them played at least 13 minutes, with Hayes-Davis playing a team-high 21.5 minutes.

Barcelona: Nigel Hayes-Davis 14, Dante Exum 12 (6 REB), Rokas Jokubaitis 9 (5 REB), Nikola Mirotic 9, Sertac Sanli 8, Nick Calathes 7.

Panathinaikos: Georgios Papagiannis 18, Daryl Macon 12, Okaro White 9, Eleftherios Bochoridis 7.

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