Nikola Milutinov on playing non-stop minutes: 'My legs were out' / News - Basketnews.com

Milutinov played 25 minutes straight in the second half without being subbed out. He revealed that his legs were giving out, but the desire to win and don't give up helped him overcome it.

Credit: Nova Sports GR Credit Nova Sports GR

After a three-year break, Nikola Milutinov played his first game in the EuroLeague wearing Olympiacos Piraeus jersey. With Moustapha Fall sidelined, he played a crucial part in the overtime win against their rival opponent, Panathinaikos Athens.

Player of the Game EFF 31 Alec Peters Points 17 Accuracy 7-9 Rebounds 10 Assists 4

Milutinov had 15 points and 7 rebounds in his account, making clutch plays during the extra period. After playing for just more than 10 minutes in the first half, Milutinov was not subbed out throughout the entire second half, including overtime.

In a post-game interview with Nova Sports, the Serbian center said he was really exhausted.

"At one moment, it was really difficult. My legs were out, but when the overtime comes... I didn't want to give up. I wanted to be all out [on the court], I'll have tonight and tomorrow to rest," he said. "I just wanted to give everything for this club, for this team."

Coming into the game, Olympiacos had beaten Panathinaikos handily in the Greek Super Cup before. This time, the match was close throughout, and even required an extra five minutes to find out the winner.

"It's great to start the season this way. We have a lot of absences, important players didn't play for the team today. We knew that it was going to be a different game compared to the Cup game a couple of days ago," Milutinov explained.

"We knew they were going to come out strong, they were going to play tough, physical because they were in front of their fans, they were giving them strength," the player continued. "We knew it was going to be difficult, we knew we had to never give up and fight for 40 minutes, and if we stuck together, we had a chance to win the game."

Alec Peters played the best game of his EuroLeague career, while Thomas Walkup and Nigel Williams-Goss recorded solid numbers sharing the guard duties.

"They were amazing tonight. Not only them, Alec was amazing, Isaiah... The entire team gave something to help win tonight," Milutinov said. "In order to win in OAKA against that crowd and these kinds of players, you need all players."

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