The Panathinaikos guard finished with a game-high 26 points
Kendrick Nunn’s scoring explosion sealed the outcome in Game 5
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The love affair between Kendrick Nunn and Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens grew on Tuesday night when the first-year guard poured in 13 fourth-quarter points to lead the Greens to a Game 5 victory over Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv and thus into the Final Four.
A sold-out OAKA Altion was on edge through the first three quarters, which featured 13 lead changes and ended with Panathinaikos up 58-56. With an injury keeping Kostas Sloukas sidelined for all but 19 seconds in the fourth quarter, the Greens needed someone to carry them home. And Nunn was up to the task.
He made a technical free throw and a three-pointer in a 6-0 run to open the quarter that gave Panathinaikos its biggest lead to that point. And every time Maccabi tried to answer, it ran into Nunn.
When the final buzzer sounded and the celebrations began, Nunn had 26 points on 6-of-10 three-point shooting, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block for a PIR of 27. It was his third straight game with at least 25 points.
“I feel great. It was a big win for us, huge win. Credit to all the guys in the locker room, stepped up big. We got guys playing through injuries, things like that. It took the entire team,” said Nunn after the game.
“Maccabi’s not easy to beat. They gave us a hard series, but we came out victorious. It’s been crazy. It’s my third playoff run, and I'm just growing as a player, learning. I'm embracing everything. My teammates have been great, allowing me to do what I do. We did it together tonight, we did it defensively and we’ve got two more.”
When asked to comment about claims that the Panathinaikos backcourt of Sloukas and Nunn is the best in the league, Nunn replied: “I don’t have to say much, we just have to let our game speak.”
Their game spoke loud and clear in this series. Nunn, who is playing his first season in the EuroLeague after three seasons in the NBA, averaged 19.2 points on 51.6% three-point shooting in the series.
And next Nunn will put his game on display at the Final Four in Berlin.
