Execute him PAOK behind 6.75 meters and “locked” the 7th place h AEK Betsson BC!
With a flurry of three-pointers throughout the match (18/32 tr., 56%), “Union” prevailed with the impressive 99-91 of PAOK in the empty space due to suspension Ano Liosia Closed for the 4th matchday of the Stoiximan Basket playouts League!
With this victory, the “yellow and black” “locked” the first place in the special playouts score and have now booked… an appointment with Olympic in the first round of the playoffs!
Leading for the winners was Mindaugas Kuzminskas, with the Lithuanian forward having a terrific performance with 31 points (6/9qtr.), 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, amassing 39 points in the rating system! He followed closely Chason Randle with 22 points and 5 rebounds.
For PAOK, who dropped to 10-16, but still had the upper hand for 8th place, the standout of course was Kevin Porter Jr with 28 points (9/20 from the field anyway), 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and as many blocks!
The match:
The start of the match was excellent by both teams, with attacks and long shots to have the first say. It is characteristic that in the first 4 minutes, the AEK had 4/4 3-pointers with McRae, Hall and Randle (2) connecting on the opposing basket, at the time when PAOK for his part he had hit 2/2 with Alston and Fridriksson for 14-10!
Both teams continued to play at a very high tempo offensively, with defenses essentially going for a walk! Kuzminskas and Randle found easy points by sending the “Union” at 19-14 at 6′, before the Porter and Michalak answer for the Thessalonians for overtaking and the 26-25 at 9′! In fact, the American guard (7 points in the first quarter) with a nice action made it 28-25 at 6”, before Candy with an improbable buzzer beater four point behind center in dead time, close the period with a score 29-28 in favor of AEK!
With a quick 4-0 run early on second quarter, the guests once again took the lead in the score (29-32), with AEK reacting immediately and with a partial score 11-1 through… hands of Kuzminskas, Netzipoglou and Kouseloglou, he passed in front of me +7 for 40-33 at 14′.
By Mindaugas Kuzminskas to continue to do… break on defense and offense, finishing the first half with 15 points and 7 rebounds, “Union” had the upper hand in scoring throughout the period. With the score going up, Porter Jr., but mostly, the Michau Michalak with eight personal points in the final period of the quarter, they kept PAOK close to the score, with both teams going to the locker room with a score of 49-47. It is noteworthy that the “yellow and black” hit on 9 of 16 3-pointers that they attempted in the first 20 minutes of the match!
The third quarter started with him Kuzminskas to continue from where… it stopped! The Lithuanian forward took advantage of a mistake by the referees, but also one by PAOK, and with a quick “five-pointer”, sent AEK back at +7 for 54-47 at 21! With the trio of Porter, Alston, and Michalak to pull PAOK aggressively, Stathis Nerantzakis’ team tried to “nibble” the difference, reducing to 63-59 at 24′.
In fact, the American ex-NBAer continued to monopolize aggressively for the Thessalonians, bringing the difference down to 2 (68-66) at 28′. However, in the last 100 seconds, AEK stepped on the gas and with 10 points in that period, reached double figures for the first time, closing the period at +10 for 78-68! Result formed by Zois Karabelaswho just like in the first period, so now, hit an incredible buzzer beater three-pointer with a board from the center at the end of the quarter!
Despite the double-digit difference, PAOK entered determined to fight in the fourth and final period with the aim of re-entering the contention of the match. With a terrible dunk by Porter, as well as baskets by Margariti and Fridriksson, the “doubleheader of the north” reduced at 5 (80-75) at 33′.
This was also the only time that the “black and white” approached AEK, which with him Kuzminskas in… the twilight zone and the three-pointers coming in a flurry, the difference rose again to double figures, with the final horn of the secretariat finding the “Union” with the pink sheet and the final 99-91.
The quarters: 29-28, 49-47, 78-68, 99-91.
See here the statistics of the match.
Source: Sport Fm
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