2018-19Regular SeasonRound 23
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens 94
Khimki Moscow Region 85
February 22, 2019 CET: 20:00
Local time: 21:00 OLYMPIC SPORTS CENTER ATHENS

Calathes, Thomas lifts Panathinaikos at home

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens recorded its fourth consecutive home win by topping the team it was tied with in the standings, Khimki Moscow Region, by 94-85 in the Greek capital on Friday. Panathinaikos improved to 10-13 to take over 11th place, while Khimki dropped to 9-14 for 12th overall. DeShaun Thomas led the winners with 25 points. Sean Kilpatrick added 17, while Nick Calathes had 13 and 11 assists. Ioannis Papapetrou added 12 points and Keith Langford 10 for Panathinaikos. Malcolm Thomas led Khimki with 18 points. Jordan Mickey added 17 and Tony Crocker 15 for the guests. Panathinaikos led 33-21 after 10 minutes, extended its magrin to 65-50 at halftime and kept a 78-67 margin after 30 minutes, enough to control the game for good.

Thomas got Panathinaikos going with a jump-hook, a layup and a jumper. Papapetrou soon added a power layup to make Khimki call timeout at 8-2. Charles Jenkins stepped up with a driving layup but Papapetrou and Thomas boosted the hosts' lead to double digits, 14-4. Jenkins struck from downtown but an unstoppable DeShaun Thomas did better with consecutive baskets. Sergey Monya scored in transition and a put-back layup by Mickey gave Khimki hope at 18-11. Calathes and Crocker traded triples before Dinos Mitoglou restored a 23-14 Panathinaikos lead. Lukas Lekavicius and Langford joined the three-point shootout, helping the hosts get a 12-point margin, 33-21, after 10 minutes. Langford followed a triple with a jumper early in the second quarter and Mitoglou scored again but Mickey and Dee Bost kept Khimki within 42-28. Jenkins took over with a put-back layup and Mickey erased Papapetrou's free throws with a dunk, but Kilpatrick kept Panathinaikos way ahead, 48-32. Bost downed a couple of three-pointers, Crocker added a jumper and a triple, and Malcolm Thomas converted a three-point play to bring Khimki as close as 54-48. Calathes rescued the Greens with a three-point play, DeShaun Thomas scored again and James Gist added free throws for a 65-50 Panathinaikos margin at halftime. Crocker insisted from downtown after the break, igniting a 0-11 run in which he and Andrey Zubkov combined for 9 points. A dunk by Malcolm Thomas made Panathinaikos call timeout at 65-61. Kilpatrick followed a layup with a three-point play but Egor Vialtsev and Malcolm Thomas kept Khimki within 70-65. Papapetrou scored around the basket and Calathes added a coast-to-coast layup at 74-65. Langford's tip-in restored a double-digit lead, 78-67, after 30 minutes. Mickey followed a layup with a dunk early in the fourth quarter but a coast-to-coast basket by Papapetrou and 5 quick points by Calathes kept Panathinaikos out of trouble, 85-73, with under 6 minutes left. Malcolm Thomas dunked and Mickey gave Khimki hope at 86-79 before Kilpatrick struck from downtown and DeShaun Thomas dunked to seasl the outcome, 91-81.

Pivotal performer

DeShaun Thomas had a near-perfect first half, scoring 22 points on 9-of-9 two-point shooting. He finished the game with 25 points – his previous season high was 14 – to go with 6 rebounds, 4 fouls drawn and a PIR of 24.

Game-changing moment

Panathinaikos played near-perfect before halftime and that made the difference in the game. Panathinaikos hit 18 of 22 two-point shots (81.8%), 5 of 10 from downtown (50%) and 14 of 16 free throws (87.5%), dishing 15 assists, of which Calathes had 8. When the dust settled, Panathinaikos led 65-50 at the break.

Stellar stats

Panathinaikos had 65 first-half points, its highest total in any half ever, and the second-best mark in EuroLeague history. Kinder Bologna has the all-time record with 66 points against Cibona Zagreb on October 25, 2000. Two other teams scored 65 points in the first half: Nizhny Novgorod against Anadolu Efes Istanbul in 2015; and Kinder against Estudiantes in 2001. The second-half road record is 64 by Panathinaikos in Roanne back in 2007. Panathinaikos scored 33 points in the first quarter. That ties the club's most points in a first quarter at home. The Greens also had 33 at home in the opening 10 minutes once against DKV Joventut Badalona (33-15) on December 14, 2006.

Did you notice?

Both teams combined for 115 points in the first half. That is the most points in a EuroLeague first half since December 2, 2004, when AEK Athens and Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv combined had the same total (54-61). They were just 1 below the all-time record held by Ural Great Perm and ASVEL Villeurbanne, who combined for 116 points (59-57) on January 30, 2002.

Next game:

In Round 24, Khimki hosts AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan in Thursday's early game of five. In the last of those, Panathinaikos makes its first visit to the Canary Islands to face Herbalife Gran Canaria.

Deshaun Thomas - Panathinaikos OPAP Athens - EB18
Friday, February 22, 2019
Euroleague.net
Referees: BELOSEVIC, ILIJA; PERUGA, CARLOS; NEDOVIC, MILAN
Attendance: 10036
By Quarter1234
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens33321316
Khimki Moscow Region21291718
End of Quarter1234
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens33657894
Khimki Moscow Region21506785
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 THOMAS, DESHAUN 28:14 25 10/14 1/3 2/4 5 1 6 1   2     2 4 24
3 PAYNE, ADREIAN 5:17           1 1     1     1   -1
5 LANGFORD, KEITH 15:16 10 2/5 2/5   1 3 4 2 4       1   13
6 PAPAGIANNIS, GEORGIOS 9:08   0/2     1   1     2 1 1 3 1 -5
10 PAPAPETROU, IOANNIS 35:34 12 4/5 0/2 4/7   3 3 3   1 2   2 5 16
14 GIST, JAMES 24:05 6 0/3   6/6 1 3 4 3   2 2 1 3 3 9
15 VOUGIOUKAS, IAN 1:27   0/1                     1   -2
19 LEKAVICIUS, LUKAS 8:22 5 0/1 1/2 2/2   1 1 1 1         2 8
23 KILPATRICK, SEAN 24:44 17 5/6 1/4 4/4 1 2 3   1         3 20
33 CALATHES, NICK 31:38 13 3/5 2/2 1/3   3 3 11 2 4     2 4 23
43 ANTETOKOUNMPO, THANASIS 4:26           1 1           2   -1
44 MITOGLOU, KONSTANTINOS 11:49 6 3/4   0/2 2 1 3       1   2 2 7
Team           1 1 2               2
Totals 200:00 94 27/46 7/18 19/28 12 20 32 21 8 12 6 2 19 24 113
        58.7% 38.9% 67.9%
Head coach: PITINO, RICK
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
Khimki Moscow Region
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 BOST, DEE 17:53 9 0/1 3/6   1   1 3   3     2 2 6
5 CROCKER, TONY 30:03 15 3/7 3/5   2 3 5 2   3     5   8
6 VIALTSEV, EGOR 13:04 2 1/2 0/1           1       5   -4
8 ZAITCEV, VIACHESLAV 0:40                              
9 MARKOVIC, STEFAN 24:53 5 1/5 1/4         9 1 2   1 1 2 6
12 MONIA, SERGEY 7:54 2 1/1       1 1 1         3   1
20 ZUBKOV, ANDREY 21:32 8 1/3   6/6 1 1 2 5 3 1     4 3 14
22 JENKINS, CHARLES 31:49 9 3/5 1/3   2 2 4 1   2   1 2   5
23 THOMAS, MALCOLM 28:29 18 7/12 0/1 4/5 4 7 11 1 1 1 1 3 2 7 26
25 MICKEY, JORDAN 23:43 17 7/12   3/4 2 6 8     4 1 1   5 20
35 KADOSHNIKOV, DMITRII DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           2 2 4               4
Totals 200:00 85 24/48 8/20 13/15 14 22 36 22 6 16 2 6 24 19 86
        50% 40% 86.7%
Head coach: KURTINAITIS, RIMAS

Head Coaches

PITINO, RICK
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
"We did a fabulous job in the first half of exploiting the mismatch at the offensive end. Both DeShaun Thomas and Dinos (Mitoglou) at the 'four' spot were 13-for-18 (two-point shots). Since I have been here, DeShaun has been playing awesome basketball. The only thing we did wrong in the first half was that we gave up 7 threes. But the good thing in the second half is that we gave up only one, which was a real commitment by the players to make sure they didn't get beat at the three-point line. You have to understand that the other team and the other coach are paid athletes and paid coaches, so when you hurt a team with mismatches and post-ups, they are going to make adjustments. He is a good coach and they are a good team, and they will make adjustments. And every good team, especially them, because they shoot so well, is going to have a run. They key against a good team is stopping their run and getting momentum back, and we did that tonight. We are still undefeated at home and now, we go to a road game. I told the team before the game that we have eight games left in the EuroLeague, and we have to win seven, so the pressure is on. Now, I have always looked at pressure as the greatest word an athlete or a coach can have. Pressure is the greatest gift, the greatest privilege an athlete or a coach can have. Although losing two key games against Zalgiris and Milan at home put us in a tough situation, this gift of pressure is the greatest gift that Panathinaikos can have because you will find out who is ready, who wants it bad. You will understand that excuses are a sign of weakness and pressure is a great gift, so we are looking forward to this challenge."
KURTINAITIS, RIMAS
Khimki Moscow Region
“Firs of all, I would like to congratulate Panathinaikos on a good game and a great victory. It was the game of the same importance for both teams. For sure, Pao got the advantage because they played at home. Anyway, we were in the game and it was a good one, in my opinion. From our side, it was a terrible beginning, both the first and second quarters, but we got back into the game and in the second half showed what we can do. Of course, we are looking for opportunities to go to the playoffs and have many games to go. Before this game I counted that we needed to win seven out of nine games. It's difficult and now our chances are less, but anyway, we are still in the race."

Players

LANGFORD, KEITH
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
"It is a process. I am not perfect yet, going slowly but surely. I think that in the coming games and weeks, I will get back in really good basketball shape and hopefully give my 100 percent to the team. I am happy with where I am right now, I am very confident. One thing that we do have in our favor is that we have to win. There is no, 'Oh, we will get them next time.' Going into the game with this kind of pressure and playing with a very aggressive mentality – there is no tomorrow – I think it is going to help us. We have very tough games to finish the EuroLeague and have to focus in each of them."
CALATHES, NICK
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
"We didn't come out ready to play [in the third quarter]. I think we missed a couple of shots, turned the ball over, and gave them a chance to come back. We've been doing that a lot in recent games, letting teams come back in the third quarter, and we can't do that because we need to build on our leads from the first half. Hopefully we can get better at that."
THOMAS, DESHAUN
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
"I missed a couple of easy buckets in the second half, but the good thing is my teammates stepped up. Everybody stepped up and put more points up. That's what it's all about with our team. I had a great first half because my teammates helped me keep it going. Then we saw something different and other guys were ready to score, and that's what they did. Thanks to them and our team, and we got the W."
JENKINS, CHARLES
Khimki Moscow Region
"Especially here on the road, you can't come out defensively like that. DeShaun Thomas got it going and kind of set the tone for them offensively. We played catch-up for the rest of the game. Alexey (Shved) will be back soon - he is a great scorer and a great passer. We needed him and Anthony Gill for the rest of the season. We didn't have them most of the season, but it would be good to at least have them back, contributing to the team."
BOST, DEE
Khimki Moscow Region
"We played bad defense in the first half. We played better in the second half, but in the first half, they made all their shots. Hopefully next week, we will get Alexey (Shved) back and make a run."
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