Spanoulis's late heroics lead Olympiacos to road win

Olympiacos Piraeus improved to 6-1 in Group F by downing Nizhny Novgorod 82-91 on the road on Thursday. Olympiacos got its second consecutive win and dropped Nizhny to 2-5. Georgios Printezis led the winners with 20 points. Vassilis Spanoulis added 13 points and 6 assists, Brent Petway scored 12 and Othello Hunter and Tremmell Darden each had 10 for Olympiacos. Art Parakhouski led Nizhny with 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting and 11 rebounds. Taylor Rochestie added 18 points, Semen Antonov scored 13 and Tarence Kinsey 11 for the hosts. Thompkins and Parakhouski shined early to give Nizhny a 14-11 lead, but Darden and Petway helped the Reds tie the game, 24-24, at the end of the first quarter. Nizhny led most of the way in the first half and a layup by Parakhouski gave the hosts a 42-41 edge at the break. Parakhouski took over after the break and got plenty of help from Antonov for a 63-57 advantage late in the third quarter. Printezis and Matt Lojeski stepped up for Olympiacos and a three-pointer by Spanoulis gave Olympiacos the lead, 78-79, with four minutes left. Printezis and Spanoulis took over in crunch time and a dunk by Hunter sealed the outcome in the final minute.

First quarter: A run and gun showdown!

Vangelis Mantzaris banked in a running shot to get Olympiacos going. Parakhouski quickly answered with a close basket and a turnaround jumper by Darden gave Olympiacos a 2-4 lead. Antonov struck from downtown, but Darden nailed a stop-and-pop jumper. Parakhouski tied it at 6-6. Darden kept pacing Olympiacos with another jumper, which Trey Thompkins improved on with a three-pointer for a 9-8 Nizhny lead. Rochestie and Petway exchanged shots from downtown and a dunk by Parakhouski ignited the crowd at 14-11. Petway insisted from beyond the arc and after Thompkins hit free throws, a dunk by Bryant Dunston tied it at 16-16. Antonov sank his second three-pointer. Dunston scored again before free throws by Thompkins gave Nizhny the lead. Petway scored in penetration and a slam by Darden put the Reds back ahead, 21-22. Rochestie took over with a three-point play and Othello Hunter answered with a put-back to tie the game at 24-24 after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Nizhny takes slim lead

Parakhouski took over with a put-back basket early in the quarter and he erased Printezis's free throws with a tip-in for a 28-26 Nizhny lead. Thompkins stepped up with another put-back layup. Hunter dunked and a five-meter jumper by Oliver Lafayette tied the game again, 30-30. An unstoppable Parakhouski and Printezis exchanged baskets before a jumper by Tarence Kinsey put the hosts back ahead, 34-32. Printezis scored in the paint, but Kinsey took over with a tip-in. A triple by Lafayette saw Olympiacos regain the lead, 36-37. Kinsey sank a one-handed floater and Printezis scored down low off a timeout, as Olympiacos played more physical with Vasileios Kavvadas guarding Parakhouski. Rochestie stepped up with a driving layup, but he didn't find much help around. Vassilis Spanoulis found Kavvadas for a layup, but Parakhouski gave Nizhny a 42-41 edge at halftime.

Third quarter: Parakhouski extends hosts' edge

Spanoulis hit his trademark driving layup soon after the break. Kinsey answered from downtown, as Nizhny tried a smaller lineup with Antonov at power forward. Parakhouski dunked again and followed that with a layup to make it a 6-point game. Olympiacos kept struggling to score and a layup by a red-hot Parakhouski caused the Reds to call timeout at 51-43. Kostas Sloukas tried to change things with a triple, but Parakhouski answered with an alley-oop layup. A dunk by Darden got Olympiacos within 53-48. Printezis and Sloukas hit free throws, but Rochestie shined with a wild three-pointer to make it 56-52. Antonov scored down low and erased Printezis's foul shots with a slam. Printezis and Antonov exchanged shots from downtown. Printezis, Levan Patsatsia and Dmitry Khvostov hit foul shots, but a big triple by Petway and a running jumper by Sloukas kept the Reds within 66-63.

Fourth quarter: Spanoulis steps up and wins it

Rochestie buried a six-meter jumper off the dribble early in the quarter. Petway hit 1 of 3 free throws and an alley-oop dunk by Hunter kept Olympiacos close at 69-66. Khvostov and Matt Lojeski joined the three-point shootout and free throws by Parakhouski made it a 4-point game. Lojeski insisted from beyond the arc, but Rochestie answered from downtown. Hunter kept Olympiacos within 76-74. Printezis nailed his trademark floater off the baseline, before Parakhouski scored around the basket. A three-pointer by Spanoulis completed the guests' comeback at 78-79 with less than four minutes left. Printezis hit a one-handed floater, which Kinsey erased with a step-back jumper. Spanoulis made 1-of-3 free throws, collected an acrobatic steal and found Hunter for a dunk that sealed the outcome, 80-84, with 43.6 seconds left. Nizhny did not recover and free throws by Spanoulis allowed him to celebrate the win.