The Greens have now won three straight games in the EuroLeague.
Consistent Mitoglou paired with Lessort to see off Virtus
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Regular Season
Round 9 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Dinos Mitoglou has emerged as one of the best players in the entire Turkish Airlines EuroLeague this season, with the Panathinaikos Athens forward enjoying another outstanding performance as the Greens defeated Virtus Segafredo Bologna 90-76 at OAKA in Round 9 of the 2023-24 campaign.
Another key contributor in the victory was center Mathias Lessort, who saved his best for last as he came to the fore in the fourth quarter to help Panathinaikos record its third straight win and improve to a 5-4 record.
Mitoglou is on fire
The 27-year-old Mitoglou had a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double on the night, good enough for a PIR of 30, which means that he is now averaging 17.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and a PIR of 20.8 in six games this season. Earlier this week, he scored 19 points as Panathinaikos downed Zalgiris Kaunas 73-71, also at OAKA.
“We finished the week like we were supposed to,” Mitoglou stated after the Virtus win. “I’m very happy for this win, the fans, everybody on the team. We deserved it. We showed some improvements, but we have to continue like this and get better. It’s a tough road, but we need to be ready.”
Panathinaikos was in a dogfight through three quarters but then took control of the game in the fourth, winning the final 10 minutes 28-13.
Lessort helped put the game to bed
In particular, a strong final quarter by Lessort proved to be one of the keys. The French center had struggled most of the game to find his rhythm, having committed 3 turnovers and also got into foul trouble, but he stepped up at a crucial time in the contest.
“I let the game come to me in the first half. A lot of things happened that I could not control,” Lessort commented afterward. “I just tried to stay in the game, stay focused and knew we had another half to play. When the coach called my name, I got back on the court and tried to help my team and do everything I can to get the win.”
The big man provided a real emotional boost with a massive transition dunk to put Panathinaikos ahead 69-67, having trailed by 5 points earlier in the quarter. From there, the Greens never fell behind again.
Lessort, who had just 2 points in the first 33 minutes, added a three-point play, a defensive rebound, 1 free throw, a hook shot in the lane, another defensive rebound and then the assist on Mitoglou’s three-pointer to make it 85-72 with less than 2 minutes left.
Lessort finished with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 1 assist and showed why he is one of the top centers in the league.
Given the quality of both Mitoglou and Lessort, among others, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see Panathinaikos getting these wins over the line.