Panathinaikos was pushed to a huge win by its enthusiastic crowd and a big game from captain Kostas Sloukas. Sloukas finished with a career-high 28 points in 8-of-9 shooting on two-pointers and the Greens beat Maccabi 95-79 to tie the series at 1-1. Now, the EuroLeague playoff classics heads to Belgrade for Games 3 and 4.
“I’m proud of our performance with exception of the first quarter,” Sloukas said after the game. “Then in the next three quarters we played according to our plan. Maybe the pressure we had at the start and the confidence the opposition had played a part.”
Sloukas and Panathinaikos bounced back from a tough defeat which was sealed by Pana’s captain turnover at the final seconds of the game. Aside from Sloukas, Ioannis Papapetrou had a big night as he replaced injured forward Juancho Hernangomez. The Greek international finished with 15 points, while Matthias Lessort added 11 points and 8 rebounds.
Maccabi missed star guard Wade Baldwin dearly as the Israelis were unable to find their usual efficient offense. Lorenzo Brown led the way with 18 points for the losing side, while Antonius Cleveland followed with 12 points.
Panathinaikos leaves behind poor 1st quarter to beat the visitors
Maccabi entered the game in great spirits as Jake Cohen made a two-pointer to tie the game at 14-14. Maccabi took control of the game 6-14 run in the final 4:54 of the first quarter to take a 20-28 lead. Panathinaikos seemed lost at the end of the first quarter but the home side returned to the 2nd quarter with renewed belief.
As a result, the Greens tied the game at 38-38 with less than 3 minutes remaining. Kostas Sloukas and Ioannis Papapetrou pushed Panathinaikos to a 51-39 advantage as the home side outscored Maccabi 13-1 in the final 3 minutes. Eventually, Panathinaikos outscored its opponents 31-11 in the last period of the first half with Kostas Sloukas leading the way with 15 in the opening half.
The momentum did not change for Panathinaikos in the third quarter as Ergin Ataman’s team maintained a double-digit lead earning a 62-46 midway the third quarter. Maccabi lacked rhythm but gave itself a chance by cutting the lead down to 61-49 after 30 minutes of play.
With Antonius Cleveland leading the way, Maccabi Tel Aviv cut the deficit down to 71-68 in the opening minutes of the 4th quarter. Panathinaikos immediately answered back as Kostas Sloukas made a tough jumper to help Panathinaikos pull away. The Greens were pushed by the crowd and finished the contest with a 20-9 run to beat Maccabi and tie the series.
