Olympiacos B.C. made a statement by defeating archrival Panathinaikos B.C. in Round 29 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.

The Greek Derby showed why Olympiacos can dream big

Beating your archrival always means more, but for Olympiacos Piraeus, its 71-65 triumph over Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens on Thursday evening was further evidence that it is a team to be reckoned with in the final stretch of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

The Reds came into the game with a number of injury concerns, with Thomas Walkup, Nigel Williams-Goss and Giannoulis Larentzakis all doubtful, while center Nikola Milutinov – the club’s star addition last summer – has been out for some time due to surgery on a broken foot. In the end, Walkup and Williams-Goss were given the green light to feature, playing 26:28 and 18:29 minutes, respectively.

As Olympiacos head coach Georgios Bartzokas recognized in the post-game press conference, both Walkup and Williams-Goss had taken part in just one practice prior to Thursday’s derby, but their desire to play also reflected something that has become a calling card of the Reds this year: sacrifice.

A colossal showdown awaits between two Greek-giants. Both are in great form, with the Reds winning five in a row while Ergin Ataman's team has triumphed in three straight, whilst two of the league's best defenders will battle for backcourt dominance as Thomas Walkup takes on Jerian Grant.

Olympiacos Piraeus-Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens | Round 29 Highlights | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

### Olympiacos and its never-say-die attitude

Injuries plagued Olympiacos throughout the first part of the season, but Coach Bartzokas’s squad has now reeled off six straight wins to put themselves in a good position to make the EuroLeague Playoffs. The triumph over Panathinaikos had big implications, too, as a win for the Greens would have seen them create a two-game advantage over Olympiacos. Instead, the two Greek powerhouses have an identical 18-11 record with five games to play.

“\[I appreciate our\] fighting spirit, which is always important. The refuse-to-lose approach that we have right now,” commented Coach Bartzokas. “Against Virtus, we were losing the game at halftime, something like 10-12 points; our defense was solid in the second half and we won the game. Today, Panathinaikos started really well and it was once again the same result.

“Basically, I believe it’s the sacrifice of our players, the desire to help the team, without any selfish approach. We are going to be unselfish altogether here in the club playing, first of all, for our shirt. This is the only approach we can have for our team.”

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">HUGE W for the Reds 🔴<br><br>Derby victory ✅ <a href="https://t.co/4MeLNxTAJq">pic.twitter.com/4MeLNxTAJq</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1768368313149567166?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That unselfishness was borne out in Walkup and Williams-Goss playing through the pain barrier, but it was also seen in players deferring to others if they had the hot hand. The most obvious example of this came with Moses Wright, who came into the game in the second quarter and erupted for 11 points before halftime, as he helped Olympiacos recover from a disappointing 7-17 start to head into the break with the score tied 33-33.

It was a real team effort all night long by the Reds, even if Wright was the star of the show by finishing with a career-high 19 points. The likes of Isaiah Canaan and Moustapha Fall didn’t have the sort of night that many were expecting, even more so given the health concerns surrounding Walkup and Williams-Goss, but it didn’t matter in the end. After all, Olympiacos was able to make a statement win in one of the most highly anticipated regular-season games on the calendar.

“Once the game starts in this type of atmosphere, you forget everything,” said Walkup in a post-game interview. “If we had broken bones out there, you wouldn’t feel it. The crowd was electric. It was really, really a fun game tonight. Shout out to the crowd at SEF.”

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">No practice, no problem 👀 <br><br>NO WAY <a href="https://twitter.com/twalkup23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@twalkup23</a> was missing this one 💪 <a href="https://t.co/2BQRTwVxyV">pic.twitter.com/2BQRTwVxyV</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1768365450390392969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Defense remains key

The old adage is that defense wins championships. Well, Olympiacos came into Round 29 as the EuroLeague’s best defense and it certainly flexed its muscles on that end against Panathinaikos, recording 11 steals and forcing the Greens to commit 18 turnovers. By contrast, in Panathinaikos’s win at Real Madrid in Round 27, it turned the ball over just 10 times.

The 65 points Panathinaikos was held to is its lowest total this season and it is the fourth time that Olympiacos has given up a maximum of 65 points during this campaign. Particularly as we look ahead to the playoffs, that ability to lock in on defense will be crucial as Olympiacos goes in search of a third straight Final Four appearance and its first EuroLeague title since 2013.

“It was a solid \[night on\] defense for us – it’s not easy to allow just 65 points to Panathinaikos,” noted Coach Bartzokas. “We had 11 steals and they turned the ball over 18 times, which shows our ability defensively. We can say the only problem we had was with rebounding. But even with these numbers, winning the game is the most important.”

Olympiacos has a tricky fixture on the road at Anadolu Efes Istanbul in Round 30 next Tuesday night, before hosting LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne at Peace and Friendship Stadium two days later. Two wins for Bartzokas’s men would be key, yet given how tight things are in the standings – two wins separate fourth from ninth – there will likely be a few twists and turns in the final stretch.

Nevertheless, Olympiacos sent a message to the rest of the EuroLeague by shutting down Panathinaikos and grabbing the win. There has been a bit of doom and gloom surrounding the team at various points this year, but Thursday night’s triumph was evidence that Olympiacos fans can start to dream big. Again.

Georgios Bartzokas puts his thumb up after Olympiacos Piraeus's win against Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens in Round 29 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

The Reds are looking to reach their third straight Final Four

Olympiacos Piraeus v Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (2024-03-14T17:45:00.000Z)

KK Crvena zvezda point guard Yago Dos Santos has been diagnosed with a fracture to the maxillary sinus wall and a concussion, according to the club.

Yago Dos Santos taken to hospital as precaution following head injury

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade point guard [Yago Dos Santos](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/yago-dos-santos/012044/) is being held at a Belgrade hospital overnight, the club announced after its game against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv on Thursday night. Yago was diagnosed with a fracture to the maxillary sinus wall and a concussion, according to the club.

The first-year playmaker left the game with 2:21 left after suffering an unintentional blow to his forehead from Maccabi forward Bonzie Colson while chasing an offensive rebound. Yago left lying on the floor for an extended period of time, before being helped by trainers and left straight into the locker room.

The further test will determine whether the Brazilian playmaker needs a surgery. He scored 20 points and had 7 assists in a game which Zvezda lost 80-84, dropping to a 10-19 record. Yago, who turned 25 years of age last week, averages 9.2 points, 4.1 assists and 2.1 rebounds in his first EuroLeague season.

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade's Yago Dos Santos looks to score against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in Round 29 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

The first-year playmaker left the game with 2:21 left after suffering an unintentional blow to his forehead from Maccabi's Bonzie Colson

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2024-03-14T18:00:00.000Z)

FC Barcelona continued its impressive surge in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague after a dominant fourth-quarter performance gave the Spanish giant a 94-76 home win over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, its fifth win in the last six games.

Brilliant Barcelona rolled on with big win over Partizan

FC Barcelona continued its impressive surge in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague after a dominant fourth-quarter performance gave the Spanish giant a 94-76 home win over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, its fifth win in the last six games.

The outcome tightened Barcelona’s grip on second place in the standings with a 20-9 record and made happy reading for the Catalan club ahead of the home stretch, with some tough road games coming up.

Partizan (13-16) held its own for three quarters but the visitors, who suffered their fifth defeat in the last six, were blown away in the final 10 minutes as Barca overran the Serbian team with a barrage of three-pointers and fast breaks, on the back of ironclad defense.

A thrilling climax to the contest looked likely when Partizan pulled to 74-70 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, but the hosts then moved two gears up and closed the game out comfortably.

Veteran point guard Ricky Rubio, who returned to Barcelona last month for his second spell with the club after spending the last 13 years in the NBA, played a telling cameo role in the victory with 7 points, 6 assists and as many rebounds.

The 33-year-old pulled the strings on offense in 16:42 minutes on the court with dazzling runs, which ripped Partizan’s defense apart, as he dished out assists like confetti. Two of those assists produced spectacular slam-dunks by Willy Hernangomez and galvanized a passionate home crowd in the Palau Blaugrana, where a sizeable contingent of loud visiting fans contributed to a fabulous atmosphere.

Ricky Rubio's best plays against Partizan

Rubio pointed out that containing Partizan captain Kevin Punter to a mere 6 points was one of the keys to Barca’s whopping win, as the home team stifled the visitors in crunch time.

“We played aggressive because we knew they have a really good team and they can get hot. We controlled Punter, it was a good overall performance and a great win,” Rubio said.

He also acknowledged that blending in at Barca has been a process since he rejoined the club from the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he had struggled with a recurring knee injury for the lion’s share of his three-year spell with his last NBA franchise.

“It’s an adjustment,” he commented when asked how it felt to be back at Barcelona. “My body and my mind have had to adjust, I am getting to know my teammates better and it’s a step closer to where we want to be,” Rubio added.

Game News

Rubio’s flashes of brilliance aside, Nicolas Laprovittola and Willy Hernangomez came up big as the former sank 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from downtown and the latter added 15 points, having sank all his 6 shots from the floor.

Laprovittola stressed that stepping up on defense in the second half, when Barcelona limited Partizan to just 28 points, was vital in brushing the Serbian team aside.

“We changed our defense and our energy in the second half,” said the Argentine guard. “We did a better job with rebounds, we also kept running and scoring easy fastbreak points. It was as physical as any match in the EuroLeague, we are in March and we know that everyone is fighting for a position in the standings.”

Head coach Roger Grimau concurred that the defensive effort was crucial.

“Great job on defense, in the third quarter too but especially in the fourth,” he said. Last but not least, Grimau praised the home fans who were louder than ever in their own battle with boisterous Partizan supporters, who made the trip and thronged the Palau Blaugrana in numbers. Asked how important a role the home faithful played in Barca’s emphatic victory, Grimau simply said: “Palau is Palau.”

Game Videos

The Spanish giant has hit top form in the home stretch of the regular season

FC Barcelona v Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (2024-03-14T19:30:00.000Z)

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz’s offense may have been hailed as one of the finest in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague this season, but on Thursday night it was its defense that was the key to the 88-73 victory over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. 

Baskonia’s defense injected energy into offense to beat Milan

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz’s offense may have been hailed as one of the finest in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague this season, but on Thursday night it was its defense that was the key to the 88-73 victory over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. Having boasted the fourth-best offense in the competition with 84.0 points scored per game coming into the duel against the Italian side, Baskonia averaged 95.8 points in its last five duels. Yet, this time Coach Dusko Ivanovic's men aimed for a solid start to the game on defense too and the players delivered on the floor. The first quarter at Buesa Arena was balanced, with the hosts keeping Milan to 18 points.

“Defense \[was the key to the win\],” Chima Moneke said after the game. “We started off well, which is something we haven’t done this whole season. I’m proud of the starters for doing that.”

Baskonia took a one-point lead into the second quarter, which is when Moneke stepped up on both ends. The 28-year-old forward provided his team with a boost in energy on defense and netted 8 second-quarter points, with his team outscoring Milan 29-16.

“When I came into the game, I made the difference and I’m proud of myself today,” Moneke added.

Baskonia led 48-34 at halftime, but a quick 0-8 Milan run allowed the visitors to trim the deficit to single digits. This is when Baskonia tightened up its defense and transmitted this energy through Markus Howard and Moneke to the offense to regain control of the game.

“Tonight, my players did a really good job,” Ivanovic noted after the game. “On offense, we had patience, moved the ball and had many open shots. But I think that our aggressiveness on defense was very good too.”

Howard fired on all cylinders and finished the duel with a game-high 26 points. As for Moneke, he went 2-for-4 from inside the arc, 3-for-4 from deep and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. He also registered 6 blocks, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block for a PIR of 27.

“I think the biggest thing was having energy and being aggressive,” Howard said after the game. “On the defensive end, we pressured on the ball and made them feel us. I think that helped us on the offensive end as well.”

With Thursday’s victory, Baskonia improved to a 16-13 record and extended its home winning streak to four games. Looking to establish itself in the playoff spots, the Basque side has a couple of tough away duels coming next, as they’ll face Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade before traveling to Lithuania to take on Zalgiris Kaunas in the upcoming double-round week.

The offensive dynamo buckled down on the other end on Thursday night

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz v EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (2024-03-14T19:30:00.000Z)

Moses Wright had a career-best night as Olympiacos B.C. beat Panathinaikos B.C. 71-65 in the EuroLeague.

Moses Wright had a night he’ll never forget in the Greek Derby

While Olympiacos Piraeus scored a paltry 7 first-quarter points against Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens to trail 7-17 after 10 minutes, [Moses Wright](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/moses-wright/012878/) had to watch on from the bench. But, his introduction into the game would soon see the Reds turn things around.

Wright got his first minutes on the night with 8:55 minutes to go in the second quarter and it didn’t take long for him to start impacting things, stealing the ball from a sideline pass before racing away for a big dunk that generated a huge roar inside Peace and Friendship Stadium. That slam cut the deficit to five points, 14-19.

Shortly after, the 25-year-old attacked Panathinaikos star [Mathias Lessort](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/mathias-lessort/003842/) and managed to get his layup to go while being fouled. When he converted the free throw to make it a three-point play, the score was 18-19.

The truth is that there was no stopping Wright for a stretch in the second quarter, as he scored inside once again before netting another two baskets to keep Olympiacos close, 24-26. He was perfect from the field, too, going 5-for-5 from the field and 1-for-1 from the line en route to 11 points.

Moses Wright had a career-high 19 points as Olympiacos Piraeus beat Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens 71-65 in Round 29 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

Moses Wright's highlights vs. Panathinaikos

When Wright was given a chance to get some rest with 3:22 minutes before halftime, with the score 25-26, he received a standing ovation from the entire crowd inside Peace and Friendship Stadium and, perhaps most importantly, had helped completely shift the Reds’ mindset.

Perhaps surprisingly, Wright would not enter the game again until the fourth quarter got underway. While Olympiacos had taken its first lead of the night with the first basket of the second half, Panathinaikos was making a fightback that needed to be stopped. Enter: Wright.

### Helping put the game to bed

[Kostas Sloukas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kostas-sloukas/001926/) had cut the gap to three points, 55-52, with 5:51 minutes remaining, then Wright caused the roof to come off Peace and Friendship Stadium by posterizing Lessort in a play that will be repeated time and time again.

The Greens kept charging, but Wright was always on hand to offer a response, be it scoring a floater (59-54), dunking once again (63-59) and, last but not least, scoring a put-back layup (67-60) to put the win on ice with 30 seconds to go. The [Reds would go on to grab a 71-65 victory](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/euroleague-live-blog-olympiacos-bc-vs-panathinaikos-bc/).

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mooooses Wright! ⚡⚡<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bwinMVP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bwinMVP</a> <a href="https://t.co/Mok6OGTUVR">pic.twitter.com/Mok6OGTUVR</a></p>&mdash; Olympiacos B.C. (@Olympiacos_BC) <a href="https://twitter.com/Olympiacos_BC/status/1768370027357491570?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

When all was said and done, Wright had set a new career high by scoring 19 points, beating his previous best mark of 15, which came on his debut in Round 24. He was 9-for-9 from two-point territory and 1-for-3 from the charity stripe, yet afterward he only had one thing in his mind: the fans.

“I’ve got to thank the fans. The fans bring the energy, I just try to match what they do – they go crazy every time we score, we get a stop, so that just hypes everyone up,” he commented.

Thursday night was Wright’s sixth Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game in an Olympiacos jersey and his first Greek Derby. If he wasn’t too well-known beforehand, he certainly is now.

More Olympiacos News

Olympiacos Piraeus center Moses Wright screams with joy during his team's win against Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens in Round 29 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

The center came off the bench and made a huge impact against Panathinaikos

AS Monaco trailed by 14 points in the first half before it charged back to lead by as many as 11 points and ended up needing one final surge to put ALBA Berlin away 82-90 and improve to a 19-10 record.

Monaco downed ALBA with energy plays 

AS Monaco had a poor start and did not play its best game, but in the end, it used a lot of energy plays to extend the team’s winning streak to eight games. 

Monaco trailed by 14 points in the first half before it charged back to lead by as many as 11 points and ended up needing one final surge to put ALBA Berlin away 82-90 and improve to a 19-10 record.

"It was not an easy game and we did not play the way we wanted to play. Even though we scored 90 points, we had a lot of mistakes. 

We were too sloppy and arrogant,” said Monaco head coach Sasa Obradovic. “It’s great to win any game, even when it’s not the best game.”

Monaco turned the game around with a 12-32 second quarter, which included forcing nine of ALBA’s 21 turnovers. Obradovic’s men committed only 12 turnovers and that difference led to a 36-13 advantage on points off turnovers. 

The visitors were better at pushing the ball as well with 10 fastbreak points to 5 for ALBA.

Monaco's Mike James grabbed all the attention after becoming the competition's all-time leading scorer during a comfortable win over Zvezda. He and his team move onto an ALBA outfit armed with the talents of Matt Thomas, who's capable of providing a deep threat with multiple triples in four straight games.

ALBA Berlin vs AS Monaco | Round 29 | Replay

Monaco won the battle of the boards only 39-33 but a major difference came on the offensive glass as the guests corralled 16 offensive rebounds to 7 for ALBA. Monaco came into the game as the third-best club in offensive rebounds with 11.5 per game while ALBA’s defense ranked second-to-last in offensive rebounds allowed at 11.2. Monaco used those extra possessions for a 14-4 cushion in second-chance points. 

Add the Monaco offensive rebounds and ALBA turnovers and Monaco ended up taking 74 field goal attempts to only 54 for ALBA, which was a massive difference.

“That was not one of our prettiest games this season in the EuroLeague. But a win is a win. We have to take the good stuff and then learn from the things we didn’t do as well,” said Elie Okobo, who collected 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 6 fouls drawn and 0 turnovers for a PIR of 24. 

“We came out of the game slow and no energy. That second unit came in and gave us some energy to get the game going. We kept it up from there. We were up and down at times in the game but we figured it out,” added Donta Hall, who chipped in 8 points, 6 rebounds - 4 of them offensive boards, 4 steals and 1 block. 

The win lifted the club into sole possession of third place in the standings.

ALBA Berlin v AS Monaco (2024-03-14T19:00:00.000Z)

Maccabi's tale of two halves

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv got its first road win over Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade in more than a decade and did so in memorable fashion. Maccabi overcame a bad first half only to show why it is chasing playoff spots in the second, overcoming an 18-point deficit to beat Zvezda 80-84.

In the first half, Maccabi scored just 31 points, and did it by shooting a miserable 6-for-21 on two-pointers. Meanwhile, Zvezda was 13-for-23 in that same two-point department. Maccabi had a 9-6 advantage on the offensive glass, but considering shooting percentage, it was not that much of a difference.

Then, things turned upside-down.

After the break, Maccabi made 14 of its 25 two-point shots, and despite improving its shooting, it still managed to pull down 8 offensive boards. Josh Nebo was a monster on the offensive glass, finishing with a career-high 8 offensive boards, 2 better than its previous best.

Meanwhile, Zvezda was held to just 7-of-13 on two-pointers and 4-for-15 on threes.

Also, Maccabi forced 11 turnovers in the second half, after Zvezda had only 3 in the first 20 minutes. At the same time, Maccabi committed just 4 turnovers in the last two quarters.

Bonzie Colson and Nebo each scored 13 points in the second half and Lorenzo Brown scored all of his 10 points after the break.

It all led to Maccabi scoring 53 second-half points, and turning a 49-31 deficit early in the third quarter to its third straight win and 16th on the season.

Maccabi scored 53 second-half points and turned an 18-point deficit into a big victory.

FC Barcelona beat KK Partizan 94-76 in Round 29 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.

Barça Basket beats KK Partizan, 94-76, with strong finish

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Willy Hernangomez of FC Barcelona is guarded by Kevin Punter of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in Round 29 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

Nico Laprovittola, Willy Hernangomez and Ricky Rubio all shined for the hosts

Barcelona beats Partizan, 94-76, with strong finish

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz beat Olimpia Milano 88-73 in Round 29 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.

Baskonia downs Olimpia Milano, 88-73, to extend home run

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Vanja Marinkovic of Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz is guarded by Devon Hall of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in Round 29 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

Chima Moneke put in an MVP-caliber performance for the hosts