A breathtaking rollercoaster went the Greek side’s way thanks to cool shooting from the foul line in a dramatic finish.
Shorthanded Olympiacos dug deep to grind out overtime win against Partizan
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Regular Season
Round 4 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Olympiacos Piraeus was staring at a third successive defeat in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague when it trailed Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 53-67 late in the third quarter of their Round 4 regular-season clash. Yet, the home team roared back in the fourth and then had more juice in the overtime period to earn a 98-94 win in a fascinating contest.
It looked as though Olympiacos was in for some plain sailing after it dominated the first half, particularly in the paint as big men Nikola Milutinov and Moustapha Fall proved to be a handful for the Serbian side. The hosts led 49-39 late in the second quarter but a stunning 2-20 run by Partizan, triggered by 11 quickfire points from power forward Alen Smailagic in the third quarter, had turned the game on its head.
Missing the injured Luke Sikma, Ignas Brazdeikis and Shaquielle McKissic, Olympiacos appeared to run out of steam after the break before it dug deep into its resources and forced what seemed to be the final twist in regulation.
Overcoming Nunnally’s game-tying triple
Olympiacos led 85-82 before Partizan’s final possession, but the visitors took the game to overtime thanks to a last-gasp buzzer-beating triple from James Nunnally.
However, the visitors had nothing left in the tank when the chips were down. Partizan team captain Kevin Punter nailed a baseline jumper to tie the score 91-91 but also committed some costly errors down the stretch. With the final minute producing a barrage of free throws at both ends, the hosts delivered the killer blow thanks to Giannoulis Larentzakis and Nikola Milutinov.
Thomas Walkup played for a long spell with 4 fouls and apart from finishing on 11 points, although he was only 1-of-8 from three-point range, the guard did a magnificent defensive job on Punter. Partizan’s key player displayed his attacking skills with some sublime shots over Walkup to rack up 17 points, but he also committed 3 turnovers and missed all 3 of his shots from beyond the arc.
How the coaches viewed the game
Partizan head coach Zeljko Obradovic lamented over his team’s failure to get the job done after the visitors had fought back to take a commanding lead. “I believe we missed a great opportunity to win tonight, but I still have to congratulate Olympiacos,” Obradovic said during the post-game press conference.
“In the first half we struggled with turnovers and their offensive rebounds, but I am very happy how we reacted in the second half. Then both our big men – [Frank] Kaminsky and Smailagic – fouled out and that was a big problem for us. There were lots of crucial moments in the game, but we missed the two big guys in the latter stages of the fourth quarter and overtime.”
Olympiacos tactician Georgios Bartzokas was happy to have snatched a win amid a grueling schedule comprising four games in just six days for his men. “The team was really exhausted, especially because our rotation came down to just eight or nine players,” he stated. “We showed a lot of heart and character when we were down by 14, and this kind of victory will be a morale-boosting one.
“The physical effort we made led to lapses in concentration, but congratulations to the players and the fans, as well as to Partizan, of course, because they played a good game.”