2015-16Top 16Round 9
Unicaja Malaga 58
Panathinaikos Athens 76
March 03, 2016 CET: 20:45
Local time: 20:45 MARTIN CARPENA

Panathinaikos starts strong in Malaga, cruises to fifth straight win

Panathinaikos Athens recorded its fifth consecutive win in Group E by downing Unicaja Malaga 58-76 on the road on Thursday. Panathinaikos improved to 6-3 while Unicaja dropped to 2-7. Elliot Williams paced the winners with 16 points, Miroslav Raduljica added 12 while James Gist and Nick Calathes each had 10 for Panathinaikos. Calathes added 10 assists for a double-double. Mindaugas Kuzminskas led Unicaja with 15 points and Edwin Jackson added 13 for the hosts. Panathinaikos opened the game with great defense and used a 2-18 run, which Calathes capped with a fast break layup to get a 4-20 lead. Three-pointers by Antonis Fotsis and MarQuez Haynes boosted the Greens' margin to 7-26 after 10 minutes. Kuzminskas singlehandedly brought Unciaja within 21-32, but Williams and Calathes stepped up for Panathinaikos and gave their team a 27-42 margin at halftime. Nothing changed after the break, as Panathinaikos boosted its margin to 46-64 after three quarters and cruised to a well-deserved win.

First quarter: Great defense puts Greens in charge

Both teams struggled to score early until Williams stepped up for Panathinaikos with a reverse layup. Fran Vazquez got Unicaja going with an alley-oop dunk, which Ognjen Kuzmic erased with a put-back slam. Calathes followed a driving layup with a mid-range jumper to boost the Greens' lead to 2-8. Vazquez banked in a close shot, but Sasha Pavlovic copied him at the other end and added a fast break slam to put Panathinaikos ahead 4-12. Unicaja called timeout, but free throws by Kuzmic made it a double-digit game. Raduljica banked in a jump hook and followed that with a layup, as Unicaja kept struggling to score. A fast break layup by Nick Calathes made it a 16-point game. Kuzminskas struck from downtown, but Antonis Fotsis also hit one from beyond the arc. Haynes joined the three-point shootout to give the Greens a 7-26 margin after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Unicaja tries, but Panathinaikos keeps safe lead

Jackson nailed a triple early in the quarter and free throws by Kuzminskas gave Unicaja hope at 12-26. Raduljica scored around the basket, but Kuzminskas shined with a big basket off a spin move. Dimitris Diamantidis added a driving layup, which Carlos Suarez matched with free throws to make it 16-30. Nelson and Pavlovic exchanged power layups and a three-pointer by Kuzminskas brought Unicaja even closer at 21-32. Williams swished a five-meter jumper and added an off-balance basket. Suarez hit foul shots and Jackson added a catch-and-shoot jumper that brought the hosts within 11. After Diamantidis found Calathes for a backdoor layup, Kuzminskas and James Gist exchanged baskets and an acrobatic jumper by Haynes boosted his team's lead to 27-42 at the break.

Third quarter: Williams, Calathes give Panathinaikos full control

Calathes nailed a one-handed jumper in the lane soon after the break, which Gist followed with a layup to break the game open at 27-46 soon after the break. Williams shocked the crowd with a two-handed dunk and Raduljica added his own slam to make it a 23-point game, capping a 0-12 run. Nelson tried to change things with a three-pointer and Kuzminskas also struck from downtown to bring Unicaja within 33-50. After Pavlovic joined the three-point shootout, Jack Cooley and Gist exchanged free throws. Jackson brought the hosts a bit closer, 38-55. Diamantidis struck from downtown and a huge dunk by Gist boosted the Greens' lead to 38-60. Richard Hendrix split free throws and added a layup, but Raduljica kept Panathinaikos way ahead, 41-62. Jackson shined with a fast break layup and bettered Williams's free throws with a bomb from downtown to make it 46-64.

Fourth quarter: Greens seal big road win

Williams shined with a driving layup early in the quarter. Dani Diez split free throws, but Williams took over with another big slam, good for a 47-68 Panathinaikos advantage. Nelson scored in penetration, but didn't find much help. Raduljica shined with a jump hook in the paint that practically sealed the outcome at 49-70 with six minutes left. Cooley scored down low and matched Williams's power layup with a tip-in. Diez buried a three-pointer, but everything was said and done already; Panathinaikos kept its winning streak going and returned home with a valuable road win.

Miroslav Raduljica - Panathinaikos Athens - EB15
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Euroleague.net
Referees: LAMONICA, LUIGI; PASTUSIAK, PIOTR; LAURINAVICIUS, JURGIS
Attendance: 5469
By Quarter1234
Unicaja Malaga7201912
Panathinaikos Athens26162212
End of Quarter1234
Unicaja Malaga7274658
Panathinaikos Athens26426476
Unicaja Malaga
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 JACKSON, EDWIN 31:33 13 2/2 3/8     3 3 4   2     2 2 13
4 DIAZ, ALBERTO 26:40   0/2 0/1     2 2 2 1 3     2   -3
7 HENDRIX, RICHARD 13:11 3 1/4   1/4   2 2 1   3     3 3 -3
8 BELEMENE, ROMARIC DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10 THOMAS, WILL 18:46 2 1/3 0/3     3 3             1 1
11 DIEZ, DANIEL 21:19 4 0/1 1/2 1/2 1 1 2 2   1       2 6
12 SUAREZ, CARLOS 21:14 4   0/3 4/4 2 2 4 3 1 1 2   1 6 15
13 KARAHODZIC, KENAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
17 VAZQUEZ, FRAN 10:31 4 2/6       1 1       1   2    
19 KUZMINSKAS, MINDAUGAS 22:32 15 2/5 3/4 2/2 2 1 3 2   1     2 2 15
20 NELSON, DEMARCUS 17:56 7 2/4 1/5     2 2 2   2       1 4
45 COOLEY, JACK 16:18 6 2/5   2/2 3 2 5 1 1 2     4 1 5
Team           5 3 8     3         5
Totals 200:00 58 12/32 8/26 10/14 13 22 35 17 3 18 3 0 16 18 58
        37.5% 30.8% 71.4%
Head coach: PLAZA, JOAN
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
Panathinaikos Athens
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 HAYNES, MARQUEZ 15:02 5 1/1 1/4     2 2 1   1     1   3
3 PAVLOVIC, SASHA 14:38 9 3/6 1/3 0/1   2 2 1         2 1 5
8 JANKOVIC, VLADIMIR 8:36   0/1     1 1 2 2 1 1     2   1
9 FOTSIS, ANTONIS 13:18 5 1/1 1/2     1 1 1 1       1 1 7
10 RADULJICA, MIROSLAV 24:01 12 5/11   2/2 1 2 3     3   1 1 4 8
12 FELDEINE, JAMES DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
13 DIAMANTIDIS, DIMITRIS 21:16 5 1/1 1/1   1 2 3 4   2     3   7
14 GIST, JAMES 28:13 10 4/5 0/1 2/4 1 2 3 3 4 2     2 4 16
15 CALATHES, NICK 30:56 10 5/6 0/1 0/2   5 5 10 4 2     4 1 20
19 PAPAGIANNIS, GEORGIOS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
21 KUZMIC, OGNJEN 14:28 4 1/2   2/2 3 2 5             2 10
22 WILLIAMS, ELLIOT 29:32 16 7/11 0/2 2/3   3 3 1   1   2 2 3 11
Team           1 2 3     1         2
Totals 200:00 76 28/45 4/14 8/14 8 24 32 23 10 13 0 3 18 16 90
        62.2% 28.6% 57.1%
Head coach: DJORDJEVIC, SASA

Head Coaches

PLAZA, JOAN
Unicaja Malaga
"When you play any sport and do so with a backpack full of anxiety, nerves, distrust ... it is very difficult to make things right. With this baggage it is hard to quietly do things at your skill level. When people ask us if we are competing for every ball as if it were the last, that is our job, to do the limit of our possibilities, always. We have to bring back our injured players, but we have to do it slowly. There are players injured, like Markovic, who gives us that peace of mind in the game that right now we are in need of. To play almost two months with injured players is very difficult. Talking about the game, we had bad percentages in two-point shots and we tried to change the rhythm by changing defenses. "
DJORDJEVIC, SASA
Panathinaikos Athens
"It was a very tough game for us. We played with consistency throughout the game. We were ready to play against all the weapons that Unicaja has and we did well. We knew they had problems with the staff, but Unicaja is always a dangerous team. We controlled one of their main weapons, offensive rebounds; they always get second chances. Now we have to continue working for the next game and to continue to compete in this Top 16. "

Players

SUAREZ, CARLOS
Unicaja Malaga
"The first quarter was horrible. We left the court with a lot of anxiety and it was a quarter to forget. That quarter was the key to the final result. In the other quarters we competed, but those first 10 minutes were the key. We are very anxious and need to gain confidence and feel good playing, especially on defense."
VAZQUEZ, FRAN
Unicaja Malaga
"Right now, we have to improve everything - our mentality and the way we are playing. Personally, I need a big change because I am not helping my team on the court. It all happened in the first quarter and at the end of it, we were almost 20 down. We lost our intensity and saw it was very difficult to come back to the game."
WILLIAMS, ELLIOT
Panathinaikos Athens
"The main key was playing really good defensively. This is a hard, defensive team that we were facing, very talented and we had to take care of the ball, offensively, and play solid defense if we wanted to come out with a win. Our coaching staff did a great job scouting and the players did a good job coming out and playing hard, so we got the win. My teammates are helping me with plays. I have only been here for a week and a half but the coaching staff and the players have done an unbelievable job preparing me. I am trying to come out and play as hard as I can."
No results found.