2020-21Regular SeasonRound 19
January 12, 2021 CET: 20:05
Local time: 21:05 MENORA MIVTACHIM ARENA

Olympiacos edges Maccabi in OT

In a battle of former Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champions that went to overtime, Olympiacos Piraeus confirmed its good form by downing Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 87-89 at Menora Mivtachim Arena on Tuesday. Olympiacos improved to 10-8, registered its third consecutive win and its sixth road victory of the season. Meanwhile, Maccabi dropped to 8-11 and is 0-2 against Olympiacos this season. Kostas Sloukas shined for the winners with 21 points and 11 assists. Giannoulis Larentzakis added 13 points, Georgios Printezis had 12 and Shaquielle McKissic got 10 for Olympiacos. Scottie Wilbekin led Maccabi with 25 points. Elijah Bryant scored 15, Ante Zizic 12 and Othello Hunter 11. Sloukas hit free throws to force overtime, 73-73. Maccabi kept its chances open until the final seconds but Bryant's final midcourt shot hit the rim.

Bryant got Maccabi going with a driving basket and Zizic bettered Vasilis Charampopoulos's jumper with a three-point play for a 5-2 score. Wilbekin struck from beyond the arc and found Bryant for a jumper, but Printezis drew Olympiacos within 12-8. Wilbekin buried a step-back jumper and Angelo Caloiaro added a layup, but Printezis and Charalampopoulos brought the guests within 18-13 after 10 minutes. Bryant and Caloiaro each scored around the basket for a 22-14 Maccabi lead early in the second quarter. McKissic stepped up with a driving layup, but Bryant did better with a triple. McKissic kept pacing Olympiacos and Hassan Martin took over with an alley-oop layup, but Chris Jones and Zizic kept the hosts out of trouble, 32-24. Octavius Ellis tried to change things with a power layup and Sloukas hit a jumper but Wilbekin answered to make it 37-28. After Tyler Dorsey sank a three-pointer, Sloukas and Ellis got the visitors closer, 40-33, at halftime.

Ellis dunked soon after the break, igniting a 0-7 run that Sloukas capped with a triple that tied it at 40-40. Zizic rescued Maccabi with a jump hook and a layup and Hunter added a huge put-back slam that gave the hosts fresh air at 48-42. Sloukas and McKissic combined for all the points in a 0-7 run that gave Olympiacos its first lead, 48-49. Bryant hit a floater and Dorsey added a reverse layup. They got help from Jones and Hunter to restore a 55-52 Maccabi edge after 30 minutes. Larentzakis, Martin and Sloukas each hit jumpers early in the fourth quarter for a 55-58 Olympiacos edge. Bryant made a one-handed floater that a red-hot Sloukas matched with a big basket, but Wilbekin and Jones helped Maccabi regain a 61-60 lead. Sloukas found Jean-Charles for an alley-oop layup and Sasha Vezenkov sank a triple for a 61-65 Olympiacos lead with 3 minutes to go. Jean-Charles dunked, but Wilbekin and Zizic got Maccabi within 66-67. Wilbekin buried a three-pointer and Hunter gave Maccabi a 71-67 edge in the final minute. Martin scored down low and Vezenkov tied the game at 71-71 with 24.5 seconds left. Dorsey and Wilbekin each split free throws that made it 73-71. Sloukas drew a foul with 2.9 seconds remaining. He made both attempts and Wilbekin missed from beyond midcourt at the end of regulation.

Caloiaro banked in an off-balance shot early in overtime but Printezis did better with a three-pointer and Sloukas gave the Reds a 75-78 lead. Wilbekin hit free throws and Jones added a floater to put Maccabi in charge, 79-78. Larentzakis followed foul shots with a critical three-pointer and Vezenkov also struck from downtown for an 81-86 Olympiacos lead with 52.2 seconds left. Hunter followed free throws with a slam to get Maccabi within 85-86. The hosts fouled Larentzakis, who made both attempts with 10.9 seconds left. Wilbekin was fouled while taking a midcourt shot but he missed his third attempt. Larentzakis returned to the foul line, split his attempts, and Bryant's buzzer-beating shot from way downtown rimmed out.

Pivotal performer

Giannoulis Larentzakis finished the game with personal-bests of 13 points, 3 rebounds and a PIR of 17. He hit 2 of 4 three-pointers and 5 of 6 free throws. 8 of his 13 points came in overtime, allowing Olympiacos to return home with a win.

Game-changing moment

A put-back basket by Othello Hunter gave Maccabi its last leads, 81-80. Larentzakis buried a three-pointer from the top of the key and Olympiacos got the ball back, finding Vezenkov wide open for another shot from beyond the arc. Olympiacos took an 81-86 lead with 52.2 seconds left and managed it well until the final buzzer.

Stellar stat

The game came down to the details, and free throws were really important. Maccabi made 25 of 35 foul shots (71.4%), missing three critical attempts, two at the end of regulation and one late in overtime. Olympiacos buried 25 of 29 attempts (86.2%) and was solid from the foul line made the difference.

Did you know?

Vassilis Spanoulis climbed to third place on the EuroLeague's all-time list of games played. He played his 342nd game, going past Juan Carlos Navarro (341). Paulius Jankunas leads the standings (359) and Felipe Reyes is second (353). Spanoulis, however, leads the EuroLeague in minutes played - 9,096 and counting.

Next game

Both teams return to EuroLeague action later on this week. Maccabi hosts TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz on Thursday, January 14. It is a rematch of the 2005 EuroLeague championship game. Olympiacos hosts LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne the following day.

Kostas Sloukas - Olympiacos Piraeus - EB20
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Euroleague.net
Referees: ROCHA, FERNANDO; SHEMMESH, SEFFI; RADOJKOVIC, JOSIP
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234Extra 1
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv1822151814
Olympiacos Piraeus1320192116
End of Quarter1234Extra 1
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv1840557387
Olympiacos Piraeus1333527389
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 BRYANT, ELIJAH 36:33 15 5/11 1/5 2/2   6 6 4 2 1 1   2 6 21
1 WILBEKIN, SCOTTIE 33:21 25 2/4 3/12 12/15 1 2 3 3 1 8   1 1 9 17
3 JONES, CHRIS 19:43 9 3/4 1/2   1 1 2 2 1 1     3 4 12
4 CALOIARO, ANGELO 28:46 6 3/3 0/2     1 1 2   2 1   4   2
5 HUNTER, OTHELLO 21:07 11 3/4   5/6 4 6 10   2 1     3 3 20
7 CASSPI, OMRI 12:43   0/2   0/2   2 2   1 3   1 1 1 -5
11 DORSEY, TYLER 17:37 8 1/1 1/5 3/5   2 2     2     4 2  
12 DIBARTOLOMEO, JOHN 0:10                              
14 BLAYZER, OZ 3:21 1     1/2       1           1 2
17 BENDER, DRAGAN 8:52         1 1 2           4   -2
23 ZIZIC, ANTE 21:41 12 5/5   2/3 2 3 5 1   1 1   2 4 19
50 ZOOSMAN, YOVEL 21:06   0/2 0/1     1 1   1 1     4 1 -5
Team           2 1 3     1         2
Totals 225:00 87 22/36 6/27 25/35 11 26 37 13 8 21 3 2 28 31 83
        61.1% 22.2% 71.4%
Head coach: SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Olympiacos Piraeus
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 NIKOLAIDIS, ALEXANDROS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
4 CHARALAMPOPOULOS, VASILIS 15:22 5 2/2 0/4 1/2 1 2 3     2     2 2 1
5 LARENTZAKIS, GIANNOULIS 17:16 13 1/2 2/4 5/6   3 3 1 2       3 5 17
7 SPANOULIS, VASSILIS 5:08   0/1 0/1                 1 2 2 -3
11 SLOUKAS, KOSTAS 39:52 21 3/8 2/4 9/9   3 3 11 1 6   1 3 5 24
12 MARTIN, HASSAN 23:34 6 3/4     1 2 3     1     5 2 4
14 VEZENKOV, SASHA 27:58 8 0/2 2/7 2/2 1 6 7 1 1 1     2 2 9
15 PRINTEZIS, GEORGIOS 18:41 12 3/5 2/3 0/2   1 1   1 2 1   1 2 9
17 JEAN-CHARLES, LIVIO 15:30 8 3/3   2/2 1 1 2   2 3     5 3 7
22 JENKINS, CHARLES 24:12           2 2 1 2 1     3 1 2
32 ELLIS, OCTAVIUS 17:33 6 3/4     1 3 4 1 2 1 1 1 3 1 9
77 MCKISSIC, SHAQUIELLE 19:54 10 2/4 0/3 6/6       1   2     2 3 5
Team           3 1 4               4
Totals 225:00 89 20/35 8/26 25/29 8 24 32 16 11 19 2 3 31 28 88
        57.1% 30.8% 86.2%
Head coach: BARTZOKAS, GEORGIOS

Head Coaches

SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
"I think it was a close game, like everybody saw. We fought for the win until the end and the decision of the result was judged by a few details, few parts of the game that could have been different. I think one missed rebound, one early foul under the basket that sent them to the free-throw line, some open shots that we missed with which we could have finished the game in regulation. It is a bad result, we are not happy but we need to continue. We have one more game in two days against Baskonia and now, our whole thinking is, of course, to forget this game and focus on the next one, because I don't want the effect of today's loss to affect how we will play the next game."
BARTZOKAS, GEORGIOS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"I would like to congratulate both teams for the game. Both teams were hesitating in the first quarter, but the second half was much, much better, especially for us. We managed to play much better defense with Wilbekin and also, to share the ball extremely well. It was a very important win and I would like to give credit to our players for the team for their effort. Great win, great team effort. It is always the same, we need to be solid at both ends. First of all, we were much, much better in all decisive situations, in situations that Maccabi wanted to play, especially with Wilbekin and the very aggressive guards that they have. Except for one or two tactical mistakes that we made - we gave Wilbekin, if I remember well, two easy shots - we were very solid on this. Then on offense, there were two parts, one when Othello Hunter is in the lineup, Maccabi plays switches on defense and we have to play immediately against these situations. And the other when all the other bigs are playing, it is a completely different Maccabi team, defensively. I think that in the second half and the overtime, we read this very well and we won."

Players

HUNTER, OTHELLO
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
"I think it was a hard-fought game. Guys didn't give up and we played hard. We could have won it. Some plays I didn't agree with, but at the end of the day, we kept fighting and had a chance to win. We just didn't come through. At the end of the day, you are going to win some and lose some. Right now, we are losing the ones we should win and it is okay because we keep fighting and are not giving up. We have more games to play and just have to get better and better so that when the time does come that we are in the playoffs, we are ready to go."
VEZENKOV, SASHA
Olympiacos Piraeus
"It was very tough. The coach of course helped, but also our guy at position '1'. He made the comments, the right decisions. And everybody, the guys who came from the bench, the guys who played less, the guys who didn’t play very good – like me today. So everybody helped the team to achieve this big victory and it will be even bigger if we beat Villeurbanne on Friday. It's a very tough court, Maccabi is a really good team. And we are very happy that we won this game."
SLOUKAS, KOSTAS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"I think we didn't start the game [well], we were a little loose. Our defense was pretty good, but our offense was very bad, we didn't shoot the ball and we didn’t play smart. I think in the second half we scored crucial baskets. We played better defense and in crucial moments we made good decisions. We played against a really good team, Maccabi for us is one more final. We are very proud that we won this game."
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