Panathinaikos woke up late and succumbed to Zalgiris

Panathinaikos lost in Kaunas! The “green” of the significant absences on the bench and roster played poorly for most of the game and were defeated by a score of 84-77 against the Zalgirisfalling to 7-4 at Euroleaguea record in which they are now tied with the Lithuanians.

With him Christos Serelis on the bench and them Osman, Grigonis, Antetokounmpo, Moraiti to be absent, o Panathinaikos entered very badly, let the Lithuanians find a rhythm from afar and found themselves in the middle of the second quarter at -18 (44-26), having a very bad image for 15 minutes.

From that point on, the “greens” found solutions to defense and attack and they progressively reduced the difference, even reaching the middle of the third quarter to take, even temporarily, the lead (57-59). Nevertheless, the Zalgiris showed reserves, regained control of the match, and took advantage of the many mistakes, missed rebounds and fatigue of the visitors to get the easy, in the final, victory.

Two players led the Lithuanian team to victory, and both set EuroLeague career highs. First and best o Lonnie Walkerwho showed why he was acquired and finished the match with 24 points (5/7 2-pointers, 4/6 3-pointers, 2/4 shots), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 turnovers in 24’26” of action. Terrible and the David Sirvidis with 19 points and 5/8 three-pointers.

From Panathinaikos, Kendrick Nunn he had 19 points and 5 assists, but missed a lot of time in the first half as he was loaded early with 3 fouls. 16 points and 6 rebounds for him Omer Yurtsevenwho was amazing in the first part but was inexplicably sidelined in the second. 11 points and 5 assists for Lorenzo Brown and 10 points with 7 rebounds for Matias Lessor.

In the 12th matchday, Zalgiris will host in Kaunas Baskonia (28/11, 20:00) and Panathinaikos AKTOR will play at OAKA with Monaco (29/11, 21:15).

The match

Zalgiris got two offensive rebounds in the first attack and found a basket with Gentraitis for 2-0, while Walker nailed for 4-0. THE Nan scored for three on defense (4-3), but after another missed defensive rebound, Sirvidis made it 7-3 with a three-pointer. Walker drove to the basket and made it 9-3, with Lessor cutting it from the line to make it 9-5. The former Zalgiris NBAer nailed it again (11-5), but Huatso answered immediately with a layup for 11-7. THE Walker however, he held on with a three-pointer (14-7), before Grant made two shots to make it 14-9. Sirvidis went on a personal 6-0 run with two 3-pointers for the home team’s 20-9 lead. Grant provided a solution with a long shot (20-12), with Francisco making two shots for 22-12. Brown closed with a nice layup (22-14), while Francisco and Birutis made shots to make it 25-14. THE Mitoglou nailed it after Yurceven’s nice assist (25-16), but a mistake by him Sluka brought a three-pointer by Ulanova for 28-16. Brown hit two shots (28-18) to set the scoring in the first quarter.

Basketball instincts on full display! ??

Mitoglou finds his path and finishes with a monstrous slam! ?? ?? pic.twitter.com/YXN5nEPLB3

— SKWEEK (@skweektv) November 22, 2024

At the start of the second period, Slukas created for Yurtseven, who impressively nailed it for 28-20. Walker continued his impressive performance and got into double figures early with a 3-pointer (31-20), with Francisco making an easy layup to make it 33-22. Yurtseven hit two shots (33-24), but the Butkevicius he also hit from long range, before the formidable Walker did the same for 39-26. THE Mitchell found a target on defense, while Manek made a free 3-pointer for 44-26. Slukas made a steal and Yurtseven ended the period (44-28), while the leader of the greens also made a three-pointer for 44-31. The Turkish center continued his good play offensively with a follow-up nail (44-33), with Walker making two shots for 46-33. Nan created yet another basket of his Yurtseven (46-35), but Sirvidis continued to make one three-pointer after another for 49-35. Nan scored with a layup (49-37), while on the next attack he made a three-pointer for 49-40. Juancho scored in transition after good defense to make it 49-42 at halftime.

Kostas Sloukas ?? Omer Faruk Yurtseven#EveryGameMatters pic.twitter.com/3EwHKeiXCC

— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Turkiye (@EuroLeagueTUR) November 22, 2024

In the second part, Nan came in with a 3-pointer and Walker with a layup for 51-45. Brown lifted Lesor in transition (51-47), while he brought Panathinaikos to the point with a layup in a new surprise (51-49). Papapetrou equalized from mid-range (51-51), but Zalgiris went on a short run with Gentraitis and Dunston for 55-51. Nunn made a three-pointer on defense (55-54), with Butkevicius and Lessor scoring for 57-56. THE Brown gave Panathinaikos its first lead from the corner (57-59), but o Dunston took it back with a foul goal (60-59). Francisco smartly took three shots and put them in for 63-59. Sirvidis with a double effort scored from close range (65-59), with Sluka to put two shots for 65-61. Yurtseven scored with a board (65-63), shaping the score of the third quarter.

In the fourth period, o Sirvindis continued to execute from everywhere for 68-63, with Smilagic writing with a three-pointer of his own to make it 71-63. Lonnie Walker answered Grant’s long shot for 74-66, while nailing the surprise for Zalgiris’ new double-digit difference (76-66). THE Mitchell ran in transition and scored a layup (78-66), with Nan to give Panathinaikos a breather with a three-pointer (78-69). Sirvidis and Francisco essentially put an end to the game (82-70), with Panathinaikos reducing but not having time to react further.

The quarters: 28-18, 49-42, 65-63, 84-77

Detailed match statistics here.