Champs remain unbeaten after dropping Galatasaray
Reigning Turkish Airlines Champion Olympiacos Piraeus remained unbeaten, downing Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul 72-54 for its seventh win in as many games. Olympiacos had already claimed a place in the Top 16, but now all but secured the first place in Group C. Galatasaray dropped to 4-3 and will hold at least a share of second place at the end of Round 7. The hosts never trailed, pulling away for good late in the second quarter. The Reds had 35-24 advantage at halftime and used an 11-2 run in the third to extend it to 51-31 and cruise the rest of the way. Bryant Dunston paced the winners with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks. Vassilis Spanoulis netted 12 points, while Georgios Printezis had 9 in victory. Furkan Aldemir had 10 points plus 7 rebounds, and Sinan Guler also scored 10 points for Galatasaray, while Ender Arslan netted 9 in defeat.
First quarter: Dunston sets the tone for the champs
Dunston started the scoring with a reverse layup, before Guler made a put-back on the other end. Dunston was a big presence inside from the start, driving the baseline for a layup, but Carlos Arroyo hit an off-balance jumper and Guler made a layup to tie the game at 6-6. However, Olympiacos answered with an 8-0 run, during which Spanoulis made a couple of driving layups, and Dunston scored a dunk and a layup to make it 14-6. Guler scored droving to the hoop, before Printezis scored from close range. Before the quarter's end, Aldemir made a layup, but Mirza Begic scored inside, rounding out an 18-10 Reds lead after 10 minutes.
Second quarter: Olympiacos in control
An Aldemir put-back and Ender Arslan floater got Galatasaray going in the second quarter, and after Printezis made a tough shot, Aldemir scored twice inside, including a dunk to make it 20-18. But Kostas Sloukas hit a triple, and Acie Law assisted Brent Petway for a monster alley-oop dunk and 25-20 lead. Dunston added to the tally with a layup, and Petway's fastbreak dunk extended it to 29-20. Hairston's tip-in ended Galatasaray's drought from the field, but Spanoulis sank a quick triple, and Matt Lojeski hit a wide-open shot from behind the arc for a 35-24 halftime lead.
Third quarter: Reds take lead to 24 points
Spanoulis started the third quarter with a steal leading to a fastbreak layup, and Vangelos Mantzaris sank a three-pointer to make it 40-29. After Pops Mensah-Bonsu made a layup-plus-foul, Begic’s block led to a fastbreak layup by Printezis. Guler answered with a driving layup to make it 42-31. However, back-to-back triples from Printezis and Spanoulis extended it to 49-31 midway through the third quarter, forcing Galatasaray head coach Ergin Ataman to call a timeout. But not much changed afterwards. Layups from Begic and a jumper from Sloukas made it 55-35 as Galatasaray's only points came from the foul line. A hook-shot from Begic and a layup from Lojeski made it 59-35 through three quarters.
Fourth quarter: Olympiacos closes it out
Dunston made a pair of layups in the beginning of the fourth quarter, but Cenk Akyol and Arslan sank back-to-back three-pointers for Galatasaray, 63-41. Dunston answered with another layup, and Lojeski went coast-to-coast for a layup and a 67-41 lead. Huseyin Koksal’s layup-plus-foul was the only basket on either end in a span of almost three minutes, before 19-year old Ioannis Papapetrou nailed a three-pointer for his first-ever Euroleague basket, 70-44. A fight between Begic and Mensah-Bonsu delayed the game for 10 minutes, and earned ejections for Mensah-Bonsu, Begic and Printezis. The visitors scored 6 of 8 free throws in the remaining time, and Akyol hit a three-pointer, while Dunston had a dunk and a layup on the other end, closing out the game.

Thursday, November 28, 2013
Euroleague.net