Panathinaikos’ attack is a tsunami that hits Olimpia right from the start and closes its winning streak at six after a 103-74 run. Kendrick Nunn, returning after a one-match suspension, made seven out of eight triples in the first quarter. Olimpia goes down, unable to stop the European champions either near the basket or on the perimeter, concedes high percentages and this time the attack does not intervene to help the team. In part it was a bad evening in shooting, in part the physicality of the Panathinaikos guards pushed Milan’s game always too far from the basket, in trouble. Olimpia had a couple of jolts, in general they played in an acceptable manner in the two central quarters in which – for what it’s worth in a match already scored in the first period – they had a slightly favorable partial. But in the end it was the feared match: the reigning champions showed up with their best face because they were a team wounded by the last few games and with a highly determined superstar. They attacked Olimpia, they knocked her down and she couldn’t get up. We return to action on Friday against Bayern at the Unipol Forum.
THE FIRST QUARTER – Panathinaikos starts with the face of better days. He attacks Olimpia’s defense inside the area using his physical superiority. Then Nunn gets going with a triple while Milan plays poorly in the first two possessions and slips 7-0 down. Coach Messina has to spend the first time-out but nothing changes, because the team rushes shots from outside that don’t go in and suffers from the opponent’s offensive clarity. At 14-0, a second time-out must arrive. But Kendrick Nunn’s show doesn’t stop. Coach Ataman uses the same quintet for eight minutes because everything works. Nunn hits the first three triples, misses one and makes three more. His was a real knockout blow, he scored seven triples and closed the first period with 21 points and Olimpia, who reached minus 26, closed 38-15 down. Dimitrijevic produced a shock by scoring seven consecutive points, but in addition to the offensive problems because Panathinaikos’ physical aggression on the perimeter seemed unmanageable at times, Olimpia was unable to take anything away from the opponent’s attack. When Pana manages to get the ball into a centre, be it Lessor or Yurtseven, two easy points arrive and the difference in shooting percentages is abysmal. Some answers came only after 15 minutes of play, with a gap of around 30 points, with a triple from Mannion and one from Shields to the point that Ataman spent his first time-out to recall his team despite the score. Sloukas immediately puts Panathinaikos back into rhythm with the team’s tenth triple. Then comes a tap-in from Mirotic and a counterattack closed by Shields to reduce the gap from 31 to 22 points, 62-40.
THE SECOND HALF – Olimpia plays much better in the third quarter. He executes with more order in attack, even on an evening in which the three-point shot is not the one on great occasions, and above all he controls his scoreboard more effectively. He gets close to minus 18, then slips to minus 23, at the end of the third period he is down 79-60 after a nice dunk down the line by Zach LeDay, who was held without a basket from beyond the arc. The problem, however, continues to be defensive coverage. When it manages to contain the opponent’s physical strength inside the area, Olimpia exposes itself to shots from outside, not only from Nunn, but also from Jerian Grant, then Dinos Mitoglou and finally from Kostas Sloukas, so in the fourth period they find themselves again to the ropes and gives in completely, 103-74.
