The Reds bounced back from their opening-round loss at Fenerbahce
Olympiacos holds off Zalgiris, 74-68
Olympiacos Piraeus registered its first win of the season on Friday night as it defeated Zalgiris Kaunas 74-68 in a big defensive battle at Peace and Friendship Stadium. Heading into next week's double-round, both teams hold a 1-1 record after two games.
The Reds had a dream start, especially on defense, as they allowed just seven points in the first 13 minutes of the game, but Zalgiris slowly found it footing. In the third quarter, the visitors finally cut the deficit to single digits, then used four fourth-quarter three-pointers to get within 67-65 in the penultimate minute. But Sasha Vezenkov took matters into his own hands, scoring an important basket, and Olympiacos prevailed. Vezenkov finished with a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double, and Evan Fournier had 15 points and 5 rebounds in the victory. Deividas Sirvydis netted 17 points, while Sylvain Francisco had 13 in defeat.
Olympiacos started with a suffocating defense, forcing three turnovers in less than the first 80 seconds, and Zalgiris already turned the ball over five times in less than five minutes. The Reds struggled offensively themselves in the early going, opening an 8-2 lead on a fast-break layup by Vezenkov. Ignas Brazdeikis and Edgaras Ulanovas kept the visitors in it, but Olympiacos kept its defense at a high level while running and scoring more in transition, including a buzzer-beating triple by Kostas Papanikolaou that made it 21-6 after 10 minutes.
Zalgiris's offensive struggles continued early in the second quarter, too, as the margin grew to 17 points. But Lukas Lekavicius hit a three-pointer to end Zalgiris's drought with 6:30 left in the half, then Alen Smailagic gave the visitors life with a three-pointer before taking it to the rim and cutting the margin to 27-15. But Olympiacos scored the next seven points, a run capped by a three-point play from Nigel Williams-Goss that made it 33-15. Francisco answered with a three-point play of his own, and the visitors continued battling and crashing the offensive glass, which is what kept them in the game. The score at halftime was 35-24.
Fournier and Deividas Giedraitis traded triples to start the second half, then the same two players traded driving layups. Vezenkovs baskets, and another bucket from Fournier helped open a 47-33 score, but Zalgiris was not going away. Arnas Butkevicius sparked a run, which also saw Sirvydis score on a fast-break to cut the margin to 48-41, yet Moustapha Fall and Fourrnier made sure the Reds take 52-43 into the final quarter.
Francisco hit from long range to make it 52-46 at the start of the fourth, but Vildoza and Papanikolaou each hit a wide-open triple from the right corner to restore a double-digit margin, 58-48. Alec Peters scored a layup and Filip Petrusev got to the free-throw line, but Sirvydis nailed three three-pointers and cut the deficit to 64-59 with 3:00 to go. A three from Francisco made it 67-65 with 1:24 left, but Vezenkov made a tough short jumper while drawing a foul. After he missed a free throw, Kostas Papanikolaou fought against Butkevicius and Sirvydis, drawing two more foul shots to give the hosts breathing room entering the final minute. The Reds held on, securing their first win of the season.