Panathinaikos grabs its first road win in Lubin

Panathinaikos Athens improved to 4-2 in Group C by downing PGE Turow Zgorzelec 69-79 in Lubin, Poland, on Thursday. Panathinaikos grabbed its first road win in Group C while Turow dropped to 1-5. Loukas Mavrokefalidis paced the winners with 21 points. James Gist added 16 and Nikos Pappas scored 14 for Panathinaikos. Tony Taylor and Chris Wright each had 13 points to lead Turow and Damian Kulig added 11 for the hosts. Turow led midway through the first quarter. Pappas and Mavrokefalidis fueled a 0-12 run that put the Greens ahead for good, 13-20. Pappas and Gist soon gave Panathinaikos its first double-digit lead, 24-35, midway through the second quarter. Nothing changed from that moment, as Panathinaikos stayed solid at both ends, kept a safe margin all the way and sealed the outcome long before the final buzzer.

First quarter: Pappas, Jankovic put Greens ahead

Tony Taylor got Turow going with an acrobatic three-point play, which Ivan Zigeranovic followed with a layup for a 5-0 lead. James Gist struck from downtown, but Taylor bettered him with a layup and a fast break slam for a 9-3 Turow margin. Panathinaikos kept missing open shots and could not get Esteban Batista involved in the low post due to Zigeranovic's physical defense. Vladimir Jankovic made free throws and Dimitris Diamantidis hit a three-pointer, but Damian Kulig singlehandedly kept Turow ahead, 13-8. Nikos Pappas hit 4 of 4 foul shots and Jankovic soon gave the Greens their first lead, 13-14. Turow kept struggling to score, while Pappas and Loukas Mavrokefalidis boosted their team's lead to 13-20, after a 0-12 run. Michal Chylinski and Gist exchanged three-pointers and Diamantidis soon gave Panathinaikos a 19-25 edge. A corner triple by Chris Wright brought the hosts within 22-25 after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Panathinaikos gets double-digit lead

Wright made free throws early in the quarter. An unstoppable Gist stepped up with a baseline jumper. Mavrokefalidis scored again and a catch-and-shoot triple by Gist gave Panathinaikos an 8-point lead. Turow could not find a go-to guy without Kulig on court and kept missing open shots. Meanwhile, a three-pointer by Pappas gave Panathinaikos its first double-digit margin, 24-35. Uros Nikolic tried to change things with a tip-in, which Julian Wright matched with a put-back basket. Vlad Moldoveanu struck from downtown to give Turow hope at 29-37. Batista scored down low and Diamantidis added a layup off a steal to keep the Greens way ahead. Kulig hit a jump hook off a Turow timeout, but Janis Blums did better with a triple from the corner. Chylinski stepped up with a fast break layup to bring the hosts a bit closer, 33-44, at halftime.

Third quarter: Time for some alley-oop dunks!

Jankovic swished a jumper immediately after the break, which Mardy Collins matched with a one-handed floater in the lane. Kulig found space for an uncontested three-pointer that brought Turow within single digits, 38-46. Gist shined with a put-back slam, but Collins quickly answered with a backdoor layup. A basket by Batista restored a double-digit Panathinaikos lead, 40-50. Turow started to miss open shots and the Greens kept full control of the game through Diamantidis. Wright provided a highlight with a high-flying alley-oop slam. Mavrokefalidis nailed his trademark mid-range jumper and an alley-oop dunk by Gist made it a 12-point game. Taylor scored in transition and bettered Mavrokefalidis's jump hook with a three-point play. Mavrokefalidis and Lefteris Bochoridis made free throws, but another alley-oop slam by Wright and a buzzer-beating jumper by Moldoveanu kept the hosts within 51-61.

Fourth quarter: Panathinaikos seals the victory early

Collins nailed a five-meter jumper early in the quarter, which Blums erased at the other end. Turow needed a quick comeback to return to the game and Kulig tried to ignite it with a layup. Mavrokefalidis shined with a turnaround jump hook, however, and soon added a six-meter jumper for a 55-68 Panathinaikos margin. A three-point play by Pappas sealed the outcome, 55-71, with seven minutes remaining. An unstoppable Mavrokefalidis nailed a three-pointer and free throws by Pappas made it 55-76. Jakub Karolak hit a floater, but everything was said and done already as Panathinaikos cruised to its first road win of this Euroleague season.