Defending champs Panathinaikos beat Maccabi Electra; Take the series to a decider: Euroleague Recap
On Thursday, defending Euroleague champions, Panathinaikos entered the Nokia Arena, desperate to knock over the Israeli giants Maccabi Electra, 78-69, and take the best of five series to the 5th game in Athens.
With the title and most importantly their pride at stake, the Greens started the game with a bang and then erupted in the second quarter with a 10-4 run, enroute to a 41-36 halftime lead. The Greeks pulled off a 8 point unanswered
run early in the third and were leading by as many as 11 points, 49-38, inside the first three minutes, before Maccabi stormed back with a 9-0 run of their own to make it a two point game at 47-49.
The Israeli onslaught was nipped by a dunk from Steven Smith and after two scoreless minutes, Kostas Kaimakoglou made a pair of free throws to hand the Greens a 6 point lead. A minute later, Tal Burstein knocked down a three to
make 50-53 before Dimitris Diamantidis split a pair of free throws to end the third at 54-50.
Going into the final quarter, Maccabi upped the ante and a Demond Mallet three in the fifth minute put them at 63-64. Kostas missed a three on the ensuing Panathinaikos possession and Lior Eliyahu made a deuce to put Maccabi ahead.
In the following passage the lead changed hands three more time, before Panathinaikos pulled away with a 12-2 burst right at the death to tie the series at 2-all.
Panathinaikos head coach Zeljko Obradovic was a relieved man after the win;
"It was another really tough game. Also in the second and third games, I believed the whole time that we could come back, but this time it was a really difficult game for us and Maccabi. Everything that has happened in this series
has given a lot of people in Europe great entertainment and they are happy for another game. There are people that have forgotten that Panathinaikos is European champion. Some people already eulogized us. We played a different game than two nights ago. I enjoy
every time that I come here to play in this arena, because the people here know basketball. I hope to be here again soon. "
The Greek side was led by 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals from Nick Calathes. Former Maccabi star, Sarunas Jasikevicius had 13 while Diamantidis and Kostas Kaimakoglou added 12 apiece. Kostas also shared a team-high
7 rebounds with Steven Smith.
As for Macabi, Devin Smith scored 14 points and hauled down seven rebounds. Keith Langford also dropped 14 while Eliyahu scored 12.
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