Calathes, Mitoglou lead Panathinaikos past CSKA
In one of the best games of the season, Panathinaikos OPAP Athens sent a message that echoed around Eurpoe by downing CSKA Moscow 102-106 in overtime in Kaliningrad on Friday. Panathinaikos improves to 10-7 while CSKA drops to 13-4. Dinos Mitoglou led the winners with 25 points and 16 rebounds, while Nick Calathes added 22 points and 17 assists, Jimmer Fredette had 15 points, Ioannis Papapetrou 14 and DeShaun Thomas 12. Mike James led CSKA with 30 points, Daniel Hackett added 24 while Kyle Hines had 14. Fredette led Panathinaikos to an early lead, but Hines, Hackett and James brought CSKA back and the second quarter saw seven lead changes. Fredette and Mitoglou made it a double-digit game after the break, but James, Hackett and Hines fueled CSKA's comeback and the host led 87-81 with 2 minutes left. But Wesley Johnson, Papapetrou and Calathes forced overtime, and in the extra period Calathes and Mitoglou made the difference.
Kurbanov and Hackett each struck from downtown to give CSKA an early lead, but Panathinaikos found a go-to guy in Fredette, who had 7 points - including a triple and an off-balance jumper - in a 0-9 run that Mitoglou capped with a layup for a 6-11 lead. Hines dunked twice and scored down low before Hackett and James both hit from deep for a 22-17 after 10 minutes. Tyrese Rice and Mitoglou fueled a 0-6 run that put the guests back ahead, but Janis Strelnieks hit a floater and Darrun Hilliard added a coast-to-coast layup for CSKA. Georgios Papagiannis dunked and Calathes struck from beyond the arc for another lead change. James took over with a wild three-point play and Strelnieks added a driving layup, but Thomas singlegandedly kept Panathinaikos in charge, 34-37. Mitoglou scored twice in the paint but Kurbanov and Johannes Voigtmann did better with back-to-back triples, bringing CSKA within 40-41. Thomas joined the three-point shootout, getting help from Fredette and Mitoglou to keep Panathinaikos ahead, 45-49, at halftime.
Mitoglou stayed unstoppable after the break, scoring three times around the basket. Fredette added a triple for a double-digit lead, 47-58. James scored in penetration and followed Hines's power layup with a bomb from downtown, before Hackett buried a corner three and Hines added a layup for a 59-60 score. Calathes and James exchanged layups, then Kurbanov dunked to complete CSKA's comeback, 63-62. James and Hackett each nailed three-pointers but Wiley and Papapetrou tied the game, 69-69, after 30 minutes. Hackett sank his fifth three-pointer early in the fourth and Andrey Vorontsevich added a mid-range jumper. Papagiannis answered with an alley-oop layup and Papapetrou dunked to tie it again, 75-75. Hackett scored in transition and Vorontsevich added a three-pointer, then Hackett and Hines kept pacing CSKA before James hit a jumper for a 87-81 lead. But Wesley Johnson struck from beyond the arc, Hines and Papapetrou traded baskets and Calathes buried a three-pointer that tied the game, 89-89, with 7.2 seconds remaining. James turned the ball over and Mitoglou missed a fallaway shot at the buzzer.
Johnson hit a three-pointer early in the extra period and Mitoglou added a baseline jumper for a 90-94 Panathinaikos lead. James made free throws but Calathes did better with a bomb from downtown. Hackett and Calathes split foul shots and Vorontsevich beat the shot clock with a jumper that brought CSKA within 95-98, but But Mitoglou, Calathes and Fredette hit foul shots to seal the outcome.
Pivotal performer
Not only did Nick Calathes force overtime with a three-pointer in crunch time, but he came close to making EuroLeague history. He finished the game with 22 points, 6 rebounds, 17 assists and 9 fouls drawn for a PIR of 40 - a great way to celebrate his 200th EuroLeague game. His 17 assists are the joint third-best mark in competition history. Stefan Jovic leads the all-time ranking with 19 assists for Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade in 2015, followed by Calathes with 18 assists against Buducnost VOLI Podgorica last season.
Game-changing moment
CSKA led 87-81 with 2 minutes left in regulation and seemed to have full control of the game but Wesley Johnson, who had been scoreless until then, stepped up with a three-pointer. Then Ioannis Papapetrou buried a jumper and a defensive stop allowed Calathes to bury the game-tying triple from the right wing, 89-89, forcing overtime. For the second consecutive season, a three-pointer by Calathes was critical for Panathinaikos to beat CSKA on the road.
Stellar stat
Panathinaikos dished as many as 28 assists - a new team season-high and its best mark in EuroLeague action since dishing 29 against Stelmet Zielona Gora in December 2015. At the same time, it limited turnovers to just 8. That's 3.5 assists per turnover. CSKA had 19 assists and 13 turnovers in this game.
Mitoglou sets career highs, club record
Dinos Mitoglou set new career highs in points (25), rebounds (16) and PIR (34). His previous career highs were 20 points, 10 rebounds and 27 PIR. This is the first double-double of his career. By pulling down 16 rebounds, Mitoglou also set a new club record. Mike Batiste (against Benetton Treviso in March 2006) and Antonis Fotsis (against Montepaschi Siena in January 2003) each pulled down 15 rebounds.
Next game:
Panathinaikos next visits AX Armani Exchange Milan on Thursday, January 9, and CSKA travels to face FC Bayern Munich the following day.
Friday, January 3, 2020
Euroleague.net