Panathinaikos showed a bad face in the frozen Kaunas and especially in the attack, knowing the defeat to Zalgiris in the packed “Zalgirio Arena” with 80-68. Under the circumstances in attack and defense, Kendrick Nunn (26p.) tried a terrible game from Evans (24p., 5as., 5cl., 3rb.)
The “greens” wanted victory at any cost Kaunas to take another step towards home field advantage. But he presented himself inferior to the circumstances and indeed in a seat that was “boiling” and not even the least reminiscent of the low temperatures that prevailed in his city Lithuania.
No aggressive solutions besides him Kendrick Nan who did… everything to prevent the defeat of the “greens”, while they also got a low mark defensively. THAT Zalgiris was ahead and with +12 points (72-60) five minutes before the end, Panathinaikos tried to play their last card without success.
This was OAKA’s second consecutive away defeat (after Maccabi Belgrade), losing ground in terms of home advantage. THAT China Evans it was he who led her Zalgiris for his team’s 10th win in the contest, dropping his record to 15-10.
The match: Zalgiris Kaunas – Panathinaikos
Freniris was the pace at the start of the match. Mainly from her Zalgiris when he had scored 18 points in… five minutes of the game, with a difference of five points (18-13). THAT Birouti had achieved the 8 points on his team, while o Panathinaikos he did not capitalize on his good start Nan in attack (8p., out of 13p.) after facing many defensive problems. Nevertheless, even with the insane pace of the battle in “flaming” Zalgirio arena, That Panathinaikos ended the quarter at 25-25 after taking 13 points off Nan (2/3d., 3/3tr.) and 10 points off Grigonis (2/2 bed, 2/2 square).
In the second period, Panathinaikos presented himself harder in defense and with individual scores of 8-2 he was ahead by 27-33 after entering the equation of the game and Mathias Landlord. Again. The hosts “response” was immediate. The minutes they took to “breathe out” Nan and Grigonis proved to be decisive, and this because Zalgiris held his own individual 13-4 thanks to three pointers from Evans, Mannequin and Buzzing takes a 40-37 lead at 18′. In fact, they shot the difference to +6 (44-38) at the end of the half, which was also the biggest in favor of the Lithuanian team.
In the last five minutes of the second period, nothing worked properly for the “greens”, who received partial 17-5 (!!) and threw away the previous effort. Her defense Zalgiris had forced the “greens” into many mistakes and bad choices in the attack. They closed the first half of the game with 9/15 two-pointers, 5/9 three-pointers (ss 0/3 in the second period), 5/10 shots, 9-2 rebounds, 7 assists for 5 fouls and 2 assists, while the hosts had counted 13 respectively /22 two-pointers, 5/12 three-pointers, 3/5 shots, 10-8 rebounds, 8 assists for 4 fouls and 5 steals.
At the beginning of the 3rd period Zalgiris led twice by +8 points (46-38 and 49-41), but a 7-0 run of Panathinaikou brought the match to one point (49-48) thanks to Nan and Landlord who had taken their team’s offensive initiatives. But on the other hand, there was the improbable Keenan Evans who did not stop “shooting” outside the 6.75 meters and even on his defense Jerian Grant. Kind of like his team Andrea Trinchieri took the lead again with 59-52 at 27′. The “empty” seats were many for the “greens”, who had a real mountain to climb.
THAT Zalgiris completely controlled the pace of the game and ended the 3rd quarter with a difference of eight points (64-56), which according to the course of the game and the picture presented by Panathinaikos from the second quarter onwards it was a safety cushion. By the 35th minute, the score had jumped to +12 (72-60) for the hosts as nothing worked properly for the Greek team. THAT Kendrick Nunn he tried to make one last effort, but it was too late now.
WHERE JUDGED: In the reaction of Zalgiris after +6 by Panathinaikos in 15′ and after realizing individual scores of 17-5, it changed the momentum of the game by fully controlling the tempo until the end.
BEST OF ALL: Keenan Evans was the difference maker in the game for Zalgiris by setting things on fire Zalgirio Arena with difficult three-pointers. He finished the game with 22 points on 4/5 2-pointers, 4/5 3-pointers, 2/2 shots, 5 assists, 5 steals, 3 rebounds and no fouls.
THEY EXPECTED MORE: In the shallows, Dinos Mitoglou, while Vildoza were very errant, with 0/6 in the home team.
COMPETITORS FOR WIN: Biroutis at the start of the match and Schmitz afterwards were the ones who complemented Keenan Evans perfectly.
HIS PERFORMANCE WAS: Kendrick Nunn may have fouled out (7 total!), but basically he was the one who “led” Panathinaikos in scoring, with 26 points on 5/9 two-pointers, 5/7 three-pointers, 1/ 1 shot
MATCH STATISTICS: Panathinaikos’ 15 fouls for 12 assists, the missed rebounds with Zalgiris with 10 offensive as well as a good shooting percentage (26/44 two-pointers and 9/20 three-pointers).
WHAT DID THEY DO IN THE FIRST ROUND: Panathinaikos had defeated Zalgiris Kaunas in OAKA by 73-71.
THEIR NEXT COMMITMENT: Panathinaikos hosts Aris on its 17th matchday Basketball League (5/2, 5:15 p.m.) while Zalgiris Kaunas will face Juventus at home (5/2, 18:50) for the Lithuanian Championship.
The neighbourhoods: 25-25, 44-38, 64-56, 80-68.
