Kostas Sloukas's heroics lift depleted Olympiacos over AEK, Andy Rautins / News - Basketnews.com

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

Depleted Olympiacos Piraeus (11-1) needed Kostas Sloukas's season-best performance to hold off competitive hosts AEK Athens (6-7) 80-74 (12-15, 15-20, 23-23, 30-16) in the Greek Basket League on Saturday night.

Olympiakos Piraeus / Schedule

Olympiakos Piraeus Crvena Zvezda Belgrade72-76 Real Madrid Olympiakos PiraeusWed19:45 Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz Olympiakos PiraeusFri19:30

AEK were leading by as many as 15 points (58-43) with 12 minutes left in the game, but tables turned rapidly as Sloukas took care of business, dishing out 11 assists and scoring 23 points in a double-double.

Andy Rautins was the main responsible for AEK's offensive effectiveness, as the Greek team's latest signing went 7/10 from downtown, finishing with 23 points. AEK were impressive for 28 minutes but ran out of steam in the closing section of the contest held at the Ano Liosia Olympic Hall.

Both the hosts and the guests had many absences.

AEK were missing head coach Stefanos Dedas, guard Nikos Pappas to COVID and forward Braian Angola to COVID complications. Olympiacos showed up essentially without any forwards in their 10-man squad: Aleksandar Vezenkov is currently battling tonsillitis, Shaquielle McKissic a hematoma, and Giorgos Printezis-Kostas Papanikolaou COVID-19.

AEK got the upper hand early in the game thanks to their good defense, which held the Reds down to just 12 points in the first quarter (15-12). Ian Hummer scored 8 points in the first 15 minutes, helping AEK maintain a small edge. Andy Rautins picked up with 5 consecutive points, making it 28-22 for AEK.

On the other end, Olympiacos finished the first half on 2/11 from behind the three-point arc, with Tyler Dorsey scoreless and only Livio Jean-Charles providing consistent scoring (11 points). AEK were up 35-27, but the best was yet to come for the woeful hosts.

A partial score of 14-7 increased their lead to 15 points (49-34) for the first time, as Rautins kept coming off screens and executing from distance. The Canadian sharpshooter knocked down all five of his three-point attempts in the third quarter against Olympiacos's defense which was unable to contain him.

The man who tried to save the day for the Reds was Hassan Martin. The American big man capitalized on some assists from Kostas Sloukas, cutting down the deficit to eight (58-50).

Credit Olympiacos BC

The Greek guard took it personally in the game's final stretch, leading his team to a 0-18 run in just 5 minutes! Olympiacos got the lead (63-60), but AEK stayed close enough until the buzzer. Sloukas's tenth dime ended up in Quincy Acy's first three-pointer in the game and then, the 31-year-old hit another dagger to seal victory for Olympiacos.

AEK Athens: Andy Rautins 23 (8/11 FG, 7/10 3-PT SHOTS), Ian Hummer 16 (4/6 FG, 6/10 FT, 4 REB), Quino Colom 11 (4/9 FG, 2/3 FT, 5 REB, 5 AST).

Olympiacos Piraeus: Kostas Sloukas 23 (8/13 FG, 4/7 3-PT SHOTS, 3/4 FT, 3 REB, 11 AST, 1 TO), Hassan Martin 15 (7/7 FG, 1/2 FT, 3 REB), Giannoulis Larentzakis 13 (4/12 FG, 2/2 FT, 4 REB), Livio Jean-Charles 12 (5/10 FG, 1/2 FT, 5 REB, 3 AST), Thomas Walkup 8 (2/5 FG, 3/4 FT, 3 REB).

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