OAKA is red: Dominant Olympiacos secure the biggest win against Panathinaikos / News - Basketnews.com

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

Olympiacos Piraeus (12-5) eased past Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (4-13) 84-65 (25-18, 20-14, 9-19, 30-14) and won the Greek derby between arch-rivals. It was the third win in a row for the Reds.

Player of the Game EFF 21 Aleksandr Vezenkov Points 14 Accuracy 5-8 Rebounds 5 Assists 4

Not only that, the 19-point difference marks the biggest margin in PAO-Olympiacos games at OAKA in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

Shaquielle McKissic nailed a trey with 5:30 to go in the game and Olympiacos gained a substantial 8-point advantage (66-58). Tyler Dorsey added a duo, Olympiacos' lead grew up to double-digits (68-58).

Georgios Papagiannis answered with a two-pointer but Sasha Vezenkov scored four consecutive points (72-60). Nemanja Nedovic tried to ignite his team, however, Tyler Dorsey and Kostas Sloukas' buckets sealed the deal for Olympiacos (77-61).

For the winners, Kostas Sloukas posted 16 points (4/6 2PT, 2/3 3PT, 2/2 FT), 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 3 drawn fouls, and 21 PIR.

Sasha Vezenkov aided him with 14 points (2/4 2PT, 3/4 3PT, 1/1 FT), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 drawn fouls, and 21 PIR.

"I feel great. We owe this to ourselves, the team, the organization, the fans. We had to win this game to continue our roll. We played two excellent games last week, but we had to prove that it was not just one week. We came here and played a team that is playing great at home," said Vezenkov post-game.

Bartzokas added: "We were able to lead the whole game. Only in the third quarter, they were able to come back. We managed to win this game. It was very important for us. I feel great for the players. They followed the plan."

Georgios Papagiannis was dominant under the baskets for PAO, registering 14 points (7/9 2PT), 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 5 blocks, 2 drawn fouls, and 29 PIR.

2-pointers this season

51%18,2Points made:18,2Accuracy:51,1%Place in standings:15Record max:24Record min:11Most made 2FGs:Georgios PapagiannisTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

"Congrats to Olympiacos. They played better than us. That’s obvious from the final score. We approached the game wrong, except the third quarter. We had a bad offensive day. This is also obvious from the score. And we had the correct mindset in the third quarter. But apart from that - mostly in the fourth quarter - we behaved stupidly and we gave up this big difference, which was not telling for our effort," spoke Priftis.

Olympiacos closed the first quarter and started the second with an 8-0 run to create the 13-point lead (31-18). Kostas Sloukas, Hassan Martin, and Shaquielle McKissic contributed with the baskets. Olympiacos' lead continued to grow and reached the apex of 16 points (39-23).

Though, Panathinaikos, led by Daryl Macon and Nemanja Nedovic, did not lose hope, arranging a 9-0 run (32-39). Nevertheless, OLY closed the first half with a 6-0 push and built a 13-point lead (45-32) for once more.

The third period belonged to the Greens. They spurted 12-2 and cut the deficit to only 3 points (46-49). Nemanja Nedovic, Georgios Papagiannis, and Eleftherios Bochoridis were the big trio, nailing important shots. The same 3 points differed main rivals before the decisive quarter (51-54).

Howard Sant-Roos essentially confirmed as the one PAO player with COVID, he was off tonight's squad.

Quincy Acy was the absentee for Olympiacos. He was hospitalized with acute tonsillitis.

Olympiacos: Tyler Dorsey 18,Shaquielle McKissic 18, Kostas Sloukas 16 (6 AST), Sasha Vezenkov 15 (5 REB, 4 AST).

Panathinaikos: Nemanja Nedovic 17 (4 REB, 7 AST, 6 TO), Georgios Papagiannis 14 (11 REB, 5 BLK), Ioannis Papapetrou 9 (4 REB).

Electrifying atmosphere in OAKA

Highlights

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