Olympiacos Piraeus overcame Real Madrid 73-60 in a full-blooded powerhouse battle at Peace and Friendship Stadium on Friday night. The teams now have identical records at 13-7, locked in a four-way tie for first place, but Olympiacos now holds the head-to-head advantage after this victory.

Olympiacos edged a tight first half and extended its lead to double digits early in the third. Real could never get its offense going, as the hosts maintained a comfortable advantage until the end. Thomas Walkup led the Reds with 18 points, while Sasha Vezenkov scored 15 and Kostas Sloukas had 11 points and 6 assists. Walter Tavares and Dzanan Musa both scored 12 for Real.

Game Videos

Tavares scored twice early for Real, but Walkup and Kostas Papanikolaou matched that for a 12-8 lead. Tavares added another pair of baskets, yet Walkup’s triple made it 19-15 after 10 minutes. Mario Hezonja’s fastbreak slam capped a 0-8 run to send Real ahead, but a three-pointer by Kostas Sloukas and two layups by Shaquielle McKissic gave the hosts a 36-28 halftime lead. Vezenkov and Gabriel Deck both scored twice early in the third, 45-37, and Isaiah Canaan’s triple helped make it 54-44 after three quarters. After a low-scoring start to the final period, McKissic and Tarik Black scored tough baskets for a 60-48 lead. Olympiacos’s defense continued to hold firm as Real failed to find rhythm. Then, Black scored at the rim again to wrap up a crucial win.

Game News

Olympiacos powers past Real Madrid to share first place, 73-60

Olympiacos Piraeus v Real Madrid (2023-01-20T19:00:00.000Z)

### Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos Piraeus head coach

“The key to the game was that we allowed only 60 points to such a talented offensive team; not even 20 points in any quarter. We were really solid defensively. Everybody did his job. We didn’t give anything easy to them and we managed to win the game against a team that is a very strong competitor for the league. We have proved all season that we have character. After big losses, we have bounced back to win. It’s not the first time we’ve proven our mentality. We’re only halfway through the season, it’s just January, but we are happy about our performance today.

“It was a great night for our team. Everyone understands it was a crucial game. I have to say \[that\] the team, the players, in this challenge they had in front of them, were ready to play. Through our defense we controlled the pace of the game, and we just needed be a little bit less nervous because of the importance of the game to score more. Congratulations to our team and our fans; it was a fantastic atmosphere and I’m sure everyone enjoyed a typical EuroLeague derby. As I always say, we need to forget it immediately, because we have a lot of important games in front of us. Win or lose, \[we'll\] move onto the next one.”

### Chus Mateo, Real Madrid head coach

“We played very bad on offense. We didn’t communicate too much on defense at the end. It was a tough game; it’s not easy to win here. We tried 100% and now we’ve got to keep going.

“We played against one of the biggest teams in the competition, and we knew it would not be easy to win here. Probably the difference was that, in the important moments, Olympiacos had more energy. We didn’t play smart offense to make open shots, but Olympiacos played good defense and with more physicality than us. One key point was our terrible percentage with threes, and another was that we lost some important defensive rebounds.”

### Thomas Walkup, Olympiacos Piraeus guard

“There’s a ton of jobs to be done and everybody is pitching in. \[All the players\], one through 12, played great tonight and that’s why we won this game.”

 

### Tarik Black, Olympiacos Piraeus center

“I feel pretty beat up! We had to do it tonight. We just had to fight and I’m glad that we came out with the W. It feels great to get the win. I feel like we’re all coming together; we’re very talented all together. We have the type of roster where, \[on\] different nights, different people shine or do different things to help us win. I’m just glad it’s all coming together at the right time.”

Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos: 'It’s not the first time we’ve proven our mentality'

Zalgiris Kaunas experienced another magical night in front of its fans at Zalgirio Arena after downing Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 71-66 on Friday night. The hosts sparked a 13-0 run late in the fourth quarter, capped by key back-to-back threes by Edgaras Ulanovas, to turn the tables when the visitors were up 57-64 with 4:53 minutes remaining. Zalgiris also grabbed the head-to-head advantage against Zvezda, overcoming the 4-point disadvantage it had from its meeting in Belgrade.

Ulanovas finished the game with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists to lead Zalgiris, while Achille Polonara and Rolands Smits contributed 10 points apiece. Filip Petrusev was the game's leading scorer with 16 points, and Nemanja Nedovic added 11 in the losing effort. Zalgiris improved to 12-8 with its fourth win in a row, while Zvezda dropped to 10-10.

Rolands Smits boosted Zalgiris in the early going, as he nailed a couple of threes that helped the hosts build a 12-5 edge. Lukas Lekavicius made it 18-9 from the free-throw line, but a timeout by the visitors was followed by a triple from Branko Lazic and a jumper by Nedovic to kept Zvezda close, 20-14, after 10 minutes. Polonara took over in the second period, providing the hosts with extra energy and a huge contribution on both offense and defense. Then, 8 points in a row from the Italian allowed Zalgiris to amass a double-digit lead, 30-18. Even though Zvezda improved a bit on offense thanks to Luca Vildoza and Petrusev, Zalgiris retained a safe margin at halftime, 38-30.

The picture changed after the break, however, as Zvezda stepped up defensively, playing with more physicality and making the most of its dominance in the paint. In the first five minutes of the third quarter, 3 three-pointers brought the visitors back into the game. Petrusev and Luka Mitrovic took over later in the quarter to turn the game upside down. Right after Ignas Brazdeikis hit from deep to make it 50-45, the Petrusev-Mitrovic duo initiated a 0-11 run that Ognjen Dobric capped with a buzzer-beater triple to put Zvezda in front, 50-56, entering the last stanza. The visitors remained in charge for the majority of the final quarter, with Vildoza burying a jumper that made it 57-64 with 5 minutes to go. But, that was the last Zvezda bucket before a 4-minute dry spell gave Zalgiris a chance to comeback. That it did, thanks to Ulanovas. The Zalgiris captain erupted with 8 of his team’s next 13 points, including crucial back-to-back three-pointers, to bring the hosts back in charge, 70-64, entering the last minute. Zvezda was unable to respond, as Zalgiris came away with an important victory.

Zalgiris rallied back to defeat Zvezda, 71-66

Zalgiris Kaunas v Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (2023-01-20T18:00:00.000Z)

### Kazys Maksvytis, Zalgiris Kaunas head coach

“Like we expected, it was a hard game. We had a plan in the fourth quarter: to pass the ball to \[Edgaras\] Ulanovas. Our captain was great, he helped us. We were lucky, but I think we deserved the win and we won twice, because we won the game and also the point-difference. Zvezda gave us big contact on both ends, good speed, good aggressiveness. We started to lose possessions, but as we have been doing all season, we fought until the end and we deserved the win. We expected somebody would take his \[Keenan Evans’s\] role and the captain did it."

### Dusko Ivanovic, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade head coach

"I think that tonight we started badly, and soft. When we played our defense, and with patience on offense, we got good results. It’s true that in the last 2 minutes we lacked ideas, we played nothing and \[Edgaras\] Ulanovas hit two three-pointers that decided the game.”

### Arnas Butkevicius, Zalgiris Kaunas forward

“Actually, I don’t know \[how we managed to take this victory\]. Our captain took the ball in his hands and sealed the deal, because we were struggling a lot in the second half on offense, on defense. Somehow, we manage to stay in the game, but those 2 threes of the captain decided everything. Absolutely \[Edgaras Ulanovas is the leader when we are missing Keenan Evans\], yes. Especially in crunch time, as he has shown this season a lot of times. He feels good in his team; he is not afraid of taking responsibility and he does it well."

 

### Edgaras Ulanovas, Zalgiris Kaunas forward:

“It was a long game, we had a lead in the first half and there were some bad moments in the third quarter and in the beginning of the fourth. We started to lose rhythm, they played really physical \[and\] didn’t let us score easily. We needed to suffer a lot, but the thing is that we showed is big character, because when you are winning for a long time and you start to lose, you need to stay in the game. There are still a lot of things to do better, to improve and to learn; we cannot think that we are good at the moment. The game can change in two minutes. We were struggling and there were still 4-5 minutes remaining. It’s a long time, so we needed to stay together, share the ball, be aggressive and take responsibility at the end. Somebody needs to take responsibility. But I’m going to repeat the same: we must play much better if we want to be a contender for the playoffs."

Kazys Maksvytis, Zalgiris: 'Edgaras Ulanovas was great'

Bayern stuns host Efes with comeback to win 81-89

FC Bayern Munich pulled off a spectacular second-half rally for an 81-89 road win that stunned hosts Anadolu Efes Istanbul on Friday at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall. Trailing by 16 points with 14 minutes left, Bayern stormed back to finally use a 0-10 fourth-quarter takeover run to win going away and end a five-game road losing streak. Bayern improved to 8-12 while Efes fell to 10-10.

Othello Hunter led the charge with 18 points on a career-high 4-for-6 shooting from downtown, but had plenty of help. Augustine Rubit and Cassius Winston added 14 points each while Niels Giffey and Ognjen Jaramaz had 11 and 10, respectively. Efes got 15 points from Vasilije Micic, 13 from Elijah Bryant and 10 from Tibor Pleiss, but suffered from a 23-36 disparity on the boards.

Pleiss, in his 300th EuroLeague game, scored 7 early points as Bayern went ahead 15-11 but a hustling Nick Weiler-Babb sparked Bayern to flip that to 21-24 after 10 minutes. Efes would take the lead back 29-26 after triples from Amath M'Baye and Rodrigue Beaubois but Hunter responded with 5 points before Bryant pulled the hosts back in front, 40-36, at halftime.

Efes came out strong after the break as 2 triples by Micic and a lot of perfect free-throw shooting boosted the hosts ahead by 59-43 after 26 minutes. Giffey sparked the turnaround with his second three-pointer before 5 points from Ognjen Jaramaz and 4 from Freddie Gillespie cut the deficit to 64-59 at the end of the third quarter. Efes still led 74-68 with 5:32 to play after a three-pointer from Micic. But Winston, Hunter and Giffey all stroked from the arc in under a minute as Bayern seized a 74-77 advantage. Shane Larkin's game-tying three-pointer for Efes turned into a blip as Hunter and Rubit took over from there, hitting 1 each from deep in a 10-0 run that put the game out of reach at 77-87 with 2 minutes left. 

Anadolu Efes Istanbul v FC Bayern Munich (2023-01-20T17:30:00.000Z)

 Othello Hunter, Bayern: 'We got stops and hit shots' 

### Andrea Trinchieri, FC Bayern Munich head coach

"I believe that we just needed somebody to show us the way. And usually this is a veteran. And Othello played as a veteran, and showed the team the way. And then the ball was lighter. The first half, we were taking great shots. We missed all open shots. In modern basketball, it's very difficult to play and compete without hitting open shots. Then, I believe, you just need a spark. Our veteran showed us the way, we followed him, and everybody played a great fourth quarter."

### Ergin Ataman, Anadolu Efes Istanbul head coach

"It's a very strong loss for us, this game. For 25 minutes, we played perfect, but then we stopped. There is not any reason for that. It's very difficult to make a comment about those minutes after the halfway point of the third quarter. We tried to do everything; we made all the rotations; we tried to change the players. But when we started to miss on offense, we forgot to play defense, and Bayern found incredible shots, incredible three-pointers, especially for Hunter. And then, with the panic, we lost the game. The only complaint is Bayern took 10 offensive rebounds and we took only 2 on our end. I think that every time we shot the ball, everyone thought we would make it. This is a mental problem for the last quarter, but anyway if a strong team like Efes, up 16 points in the last 15 minutes at home lost the game, it's my fault. That's all."

### Niels Giffey, FC Bayern Munich player

"I think it was a win where we had to fight back from a large deficit in the second half. That was really good that we kind of stuck together mentally, kept our head in the game, and then put together some good basketball in the second half. I think the speed of the game kind of changed to our speed. We took early shots, we made early shots. That was the big difference. When the ball doesn't fall like it did in the first half, when we only made 3 threes, the game didn't go our way. And then in the second half, we passed the ball ahead and played a fast-paced game that helped us a lot."

### Othello Hunter, FC Bayern Munich player

"Our second group that came in for the third quarter, playing defense, getting on the floor, diving for balls, kept us believing. Then we got stops and hit shots. My teammates got me open, it's all them, nothing from me. Just them."

Othello Hunter, Bayern: 'We got stops and hit shots'

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv has confirmed that guard [Lorenzo Brown](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/lorenzo-brown/009622/) will be out of action for between two and three weeks after suffering a sprained ankle in the team's Round 20 game against ALBA Berlin on Thursday night.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="iw" dir="rtl">עדכון: לורנזו בראון סובל מנקע בקרסול. צפי ההיעדרות הוא בין שבועיים לשלושה כאשר בעוד 10 ימים תתבצע הערכת מצב מחודשת.</p>&mdash; Maccabi Tel Aviv BC (@MaccabitlvBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaccabitlvBC/status/1616473117039419398?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

As reported in a tweet by the club, Brown will be reevaluated in 10 days' time. Brown is in his debut campaign with Maccabi and has posted averages of 16.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists and a PIR of 17.0 in 20 games this season. He was named as the Round 5 MVP after shining in Maccabi's 85-74 win against Panathinaikos Athens.

Maccabi star Lorenzo Brown to miss 2-3 weeks with sprained ankle

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans are in for a treat this Friday night, as Olympiacos Piraeus (12-7) welcomes Real Madrid (13-6) to Peace and Friendship Stadium. This meeting between the team currently fourth in the standings and the league leader has plenty of history, and a new page in this rivalry will be written when they take to the floor in Greece.

Both sides are in pretty good shape coming into this game, as Olympiacos is 3-1 in its last four after a blip that saw it suffer back-to-back defeats, while Real is 4-1 in its last five and was able to record successive road wins in the double-round week last week.

Should the Reds make it four wins in their last five on Friday night, they will become the co-leader in the EuroLeague. Conversely, if *Los Blancos* are able to record another victory, they would end Round 20 on top of the pile for a second week in a row.

When Real hosted Olympiacos at WiZink Center in Round 3, a shootout ensued. The Reds were able to come away with an 87-89 victory, but only after a stellar performance by Sasha Vezenkov, who had a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double. Veteran guard Kostas Sloukas was also key, recording 14 points and 7 assists. Most importantly, in the final seconds of the game, Sloukas executed a pump fake on Edy Tavares before scoring a layup to give Olympiacos the win.

Real Madrid - Olympiacos | Round 3 | Highlights

That was the last contest between these two titans of European basketball, but they have had some memorable games in the past. Real edges the battle 16-19 since the turn of the century, but they are 1-1 in the biggest game of them all: the EuroLeague Championship Game.

In 2013, Olympiacos beat Real 100-88 in London, England to secure its third EuroLeague crown and second in a row. There are three survivors for the Reds from that day – head coach Georgios Bartzokas, guard Sloukas and forward Kostas Papanikolaou – while there are three members of Real's title-losing team that are on its roster: Sergio Llull, Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez.

One year later, they met again in the playoffs. This time, Real exacted revenge against Olympiacos after winning 3-2 in the best-of-five series, with each team winning all of its home games. The difference is that Real had Game 5 on its home floor after securing a higher seed, and that home advantage paid dividends. However, *Los Blancos* went on to lose the championship game to Maccabi Electrica Tel Aviv, falling 86-98 in overtime.

Then, in 2015, Real got one over Olympiacos once again, this time in the championship game in Madrid, Spain after winning 78-59. With that victory, *Los Blancos* grabbed their ninth EuroLeague title. Coach Bartzokas was not in charge of the Reds at that time and Papanikolaou had departed the club after the 2013 triumph, but Sloukas, Llull, Fernandez and Rodriguez were all key contributors that day.

In the years following that matchup, Real and Olympiacos have only ever faced off in the regular season, with the record between the two over that period standing at 8-6 in Real's favor. What's more, the Reds have gone 4-2 at home since the 2015 championship game, including a 74-68 win over *Los Blancos* in Piraeus last season.

On that occasion, just two Olympiacos players got into double figures – Vezenkov with 16 points and Tyler Dorsey with 12 – but it found a way to largely keep Real quiet, as only ex-Reds guard Nigel Williams-Goss and Walter Tavares found joy; the former finished with 16 points, while the latter had 15.

Los Blancos began a new era with fresh faces triumphantly as they overcame Efes. They journey to a buoyant Olympiacos outfit following a thumping win over Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Olympiacos Piraeus v Real Madrid - Round 2 - Highlights

Fast-forward to this upcoming game and two of the players that shined in Piraeus last year, Dorsey and Williams-Goss, will not be on the floor. Dorsey left for pastures new last summer, while Williams-Goss has a fever and has not made the trip to Greece. Real is also without Sergio Rodriguez and Alberto Abalde due to injury, but Gabriel Deck could feature after last playing in Round 16. Fernandez has also flown to Greece for this one after recovering from an injury, so he could make his second appearance of the season, following his almost 17-minute outing against LCLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in Round 15.

For Olympiacos, Sloukas seems set to return following his absence against Virtus Segafredo Bologna last Friday night, while Vezenkov is likely to be in better shape after dealing with flu during a 22-point, 10-rebound night in Italy one week ago. Those two were vital when the Reds won in Madrid earlier this season, and they will have to perform well again if their team is to win this Friday night.

In fact, many EuroLeague fans may be taken back to 2013 at certain points in the game, as Coach Bartzokas, Sloukas and Papanikolaou are on the Olympiacos side of the divide, whereas Llull and Fernandez are on the other. It just adds another layer to an already mouth-watering contest.

A great spectacle often takes place whenever Olympiacos and Real face off, and with so much on the line, that is likely to be the case once again. So, whatever plans you have, cancel them and make sure you're available to watch this epic battle at 20:00 CET. It should be a lot of fun!

Olympiacos, Real Madrid face off in a top-of-the-table matchup

Wade Baldwin appeared to lose his momentum when he was sidelined with a hamstring injury for several weeks earlier this campaign, but the Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv guard bounced back from adversity in spectacular fashion to enjoy a memorable night in his team’s 87-74 home win over ALBA Berlin in Round 20.

Having racked up a career-high of 33 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds, coupled with a block and a steal, the 26-year-old became the first EuroLeague player to match at least that tally since star center Nikola Vujcic [accomplished the figures in the 2006-07 season](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2006-07/lottomatica-roma-maccabi-elite/E2006/113/#boxscore) with Maccabi.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">List of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroLeague</a> players to score at least 33 points, grab 3 rebounds, dish 6 assists, get a steal and block a shot:<br><br>2006-07 🇭🇷 Nikola Vujcic<br>2022-23 🇺🇸 Wade Baldwin IV 👈</p>&mdash; Darius Garuolis (@DariusGaruolis) <a href="https://twitter.com/DariusGaruolis/status/1616188877089247236?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Baldwin’s feat is all the more impressive given that Jalen Adams was sidelined for the game through illness while starting point guard Lorenzo Brown limped off midway through the first quarter with what looked like an ankle injury and sat out the rest of the contest.

That threw Iftah Ziv into the fray with playmaking duties and catapulted Baldwin into the spotlight, as he produced a stellar performance after another big personal night in Round 19, when he posted 21 points in the 88-86 road loss at Panathinaikos Athens.

Baldwin went from strength to strength against ALBA. With Brown out for the count, he scored 12 points in a rugged first half that Maccabi won 38-28. Then, he exploded in the third quarter, netting 13 points to keep his team in the driver's seat.

Wade Baldwin Iv (33 points) Highlights vs. ALBA Berlin, 01/19/2023

Wade Baldwin highlights vs ALBA Berlin

Baldwin scored the opening 5 points of the quarter for the hosts and then drained another three-pointer to fend off the visitors, who kept coming at Maccabi and reduced an early 28-10 deficit to single digits several times, most notably midway in the fourth quarter (67-60), with Baldwin taking a brief respite earlier in the period as he was on 3 personal fouls.

ALBA threatened to turn the match on its head and Maccabi head coach Oded Kattash sent Baldwin right back into the heat of battle.

The man of the match responded with a bang, sinking a pair of clutch mid-range jumpers and then burying 4 free throws down the stretch, propelling Maccabi to a win that kept it firmly in the playoffs picture.

Baldwin earned heaps of praise from all around, none more so than from his teammate Darrun Hilliard.

"You can tell by the system we run and the type of player that Wade is, he’s had some big nights for us and we count on him for that,” Hilliard said after the game. "He is more \[than\] capable of doing that so I am not surprised. He could have gone for 40 \[points\] if he didn't take so many threes. No one on that court could guard him. Wade is the type of player who will do whatever he sets his mind to, he is that good."

Maccabi’s head coach Oded Kattash also highlighted Baldwin’s immense contribution with Brown out injured. "For a time, we were without Wade and Lorenzo took more on himself, a lot more. And today we saw when we lost Lorenzo that Wade did more and Wade had a great game," Kattash said.

Baldwin himself stayed humble and credited his teammates, who went the extra mile to make sure Maccabi made the home-court advantage count.

“I felt good, especially seeing my first three go in. 0 for 13 in my last attempts, so it was good to get a couple today," said Baldwin, who shot 4-for-8 from three-point range against ALBA.

"Everybody stayed together, we made shots, we had guys contribute all over the bench. You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Rafi \[Menco\], he hit a couple of big threes and a left-handed floater. We’ve had guys come in and impact the game in various ways. Lorenzo went down and other guys stepped up."

Wade Baldwin delivered big for shorthanded Maccabi

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv v ALBA Berlin (2023-01-19T19:05:00.000Z)