The reigning champs prevailed in a tense finish to take a 2-1 lead in the series
Panathinaikos beats Efes, 77-81, in Game 3 to edge closer to Final Four

Defending Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champs Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens ground out a priceless 77-81 road win over Anadolu Efes Istanbul in Game 3 of their quarterfinal playoff series to move a step closer towards reaching the 2025 Final Four in Abu Dhabi.
Player of the game Kendrick Nunn produced a monster performance, scoring 19 of his game-high 25 points to lead the Greens while Konstantinos Mitoglou chipped in with 18 points and 6 boards, including a clutch three down the stretch.
Kostas Sloukas netted 10 points as Panathinaikos won the battle of the boards 35-26, having racked up 15 offensive rebounds and shot 16 of 16 from the foul line. At the other end, Shane Larkin paced Efes on 17 points, Dan Oturu added 14 and Elijah Bryant netted 13 to go with 7 boards. Ercan Osmani scored 10 points for the hosts, all of them in the first quarter as Efes led 23-20 after 10 minutes.
Game Videos
Having trailed after the opening 10 minutes, Panathinaikos roared back with a 6-17 run which propelled the Greens into a 31-37 lead on the back of effervescent shooting from Sloukas and Mitoglou as Nunn was tightly marked and given no breathing space in the backcourt.
The regular season’s MVP, who struggled in the opening two games, beat the halftime buzzer with one of his many audacious layups to give the visitors a 39-45 lead at the interval before carrying on at full throttle in the third quarter.
Nunn scored his team’s opening 6 points after the break, firing Panathinaikos into a double-digit lead as Efes stalled on offense and looked bereft of ideas. With Mitoglou hitting yet another three and Nunn adding four more points to his tally, Panathinaikos romped away into a 50-63 advantage late in the third quarter and looked set for some plain sailing in the final 10 minutes.
However, Efes had other ideas. The home side closed the gap to 64-65 with a fierce 14-2 run prior to Nunn making a three-point play, briefly halting the Turkish giant’s charge. Moments later, however, a sublime Larkin floater made it 72-72 and with the rivals all square, the stage was set for a highly dramatic climax.
Mitoglou came up big with a massive spot-up three which allowed Panathinaikos to take a decisive 74-79 lead and although Thompson replied swiftly at the other end, Nunn sealed the contest with a pair of ice-cool free throws to silence a vociferous home crowd.