Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade secured its third straight win, leading from start to finish for a hard-fought 89-91 triumph at Panathinaikos Athens. The Serbian team improved to 3-3 while Panathinaikos has now lost four straight to sink to 1-5.
Partizan makes it three straight by downing Panathinaikos, 89-91
Partizan’s offense was flowing freely from the opening tip, racing into a double-digit lead midway through the first quarter. The pace didn’t drop as Kevin Punter reached 20 points by halftime, which arrived with Partizan leading 41-54. Panathinaikos improved significantly after the break and came within a single possession on several occasions, but could never move into the lead. Punter led Partizan with 29 points, while Mathias Lessort (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Zach LeDay (13 points, 10 rebounds) both had double-doubles. Debutant Dwayne Bacon and Nate Wolters both scored 17 for Panathinaikos.
Game Videos
Partizan made a flying start, with all five starters getting on the scoreboard and Punter netting a pair of triples to make it 8-20 before a pair of close-range finishes by LeDay and another Punter triple stretched the lead to 16-31 after 10 minutes. The visiting team’s offense kept on rolling in the second quarter, as Yam Madar’s triple made it 28-40 to protect a double-digit margin. Panathinaikos found much more intensity after the break and pulled it back to 57-58, but Danilo Andjusic scored 5 points in a 0-7 run to make Partizan more comfortable. It was 64-68 heading into the final period, which stayed close until a 2-9 run, featuring 5 points from Punter, made it 73-83 with 5 minutes left. Panathinaikos kept fighting but it wasn’t enough.