Virtus Segafredo Bologna used a 14-0 fourth-quarter run to hold off Panathinaikos Athens 74-64 on Thursday night. Virtus snapped its two-game home losing streak with the win and improved to 9-11 on the season, while Panathinaikos dropped to 7-13. The hosts led for most of the night, but the Greens made their run in the third quarter and went in front 55-57 early in the fourth. But Virtus replied by not allowing a single point for more than 5 minutes while scoring 14 to seal the outcome.
Virtus holds off Panathinaikos with big late run
Tornike Shengelia led Virtus with 16 points and tied his career high with 7 assists, and also had 3 steals. Milos Teodosic scored 12, and Ismael Bako had 11 points in this victory. Nate Wolters had 8 of his 15 points in the third quarter, but was scoreless in the fourth. Mateusz Ponitka had 13 and Derrick Williams scored 10 in a losing effort.
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Triples from Teodosic and Shengelia gave Virtus an early lead, and an 18-9 advantage late in the first quarter. Bako made his presence felt early in the second, as the margin grew to 27-13. Panathinaikos got an offensive spark with a par of threes from Marius Grigonis and one from Wolters, and Dwayne Bacon's layup cut it to 29-24. But Daniel Hackett sparked a 7-0 run, which helped the hosts to a 43-30 halftime lead.
Wolters and Paris Lee got Panathinaikos in a good rhythm after the break, and even though Iffe Lundberg's triple still had Virtus up 52-41, a three-point play and a triple from Ponitka cut it to 55-51 at the end of the third quarter, before a triple apiece from Williams and Ponitka in the first 3 minutes of the fourth put the Greens in front, 55-57. But a corner three from Isaiah Cordinier and an alley-oop from Teodosic to Bako made it 62-57, before more free throws from Teodosic and a dunk from Cordinier capped a 14-0 run, icing the game.