Gist, Singleton post double-doubles as Greens beat Maccabi

Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens made it seven wins out of seven at home with a convincing 89-76 victory over Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv. The first half was closely contested, but the home team used intense defense to surge ahead in the third quarter and Maccabi never really threatened a comeback. Backup point guard Lukas Lekavicius impressed with 13 points and 4 assists in an expanded role with starter Nick Calathes sidelines with a shoulder injury. He received help in the backcourt from Nikos Pappas, who added 14 points. Panathinaikos dominated inside, with James Gist registering a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Chris Singleton posting similar numbers with 14 points and 10 boards. KC Rivers also enjoyed another strong shooting night with 15 points on 3 of 4 three-point shooting. Norris Cole led Maccabi with 14 points – 13 of which came in the first half, while Pierre Jackson combined 13 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists and Alex Tyus scored 12. The game was preceded by a minute’s silence for Tassos Stefanou, the former Panathinaikos General Manager who passed away recently.

Making his first start of the season in place of Calathes, Lekavicius showed no early nerves as he hit two triples and then scored a jumper to secure an 11-6 lead. After a dunk from Singleton, Maccabi got moving as Cole scored 5 in a 1-7 run and then added a basket plus foul to make it 18-18. Lekavicius and Jake Cohen traded triples and Pappas beat the buzzer to make it 25-21 at the end of the first. The second quarter started with 5 points from Gist and a triple from Rivers as Panathinaikos moved 9 ahead, but a 4-12 run – including a corner three from Jackson and another basket for Cole – brought Maccabi back. The final stages of the half saw two more triples from the red-hot Rivers, which allowed the home team to take a 49-43 lead into the break.

Both offenses struggled early in the second half, before a layup from Rivers and free throws by Singleton extended the lead to double digits. Panathinaikos restricted Maccabi to just 5 points in more than six minutes until Jackson scored a layup-plus-foul, and a fastbreak dunk by DeAndre Kane made it 60-53. Rivers and Pappas scored from close range to extend the lead back to double digits, and when Pappas again drove to the rim to beat the buzzer it was 67-56 after three quarters. Pappas started the fourth with free throws to give Panathinaikos its largest lead, 13 points, which grew further with a triple from Singleton. A 0-4 run featuring an alley-oop between Kane and Tyus gave Maccabi some hope, and after another Pappas layup, consecutive triples from Kane and DeShaun Thomas made it 74-67. But a pair of triples from Marcus Denmon secured breathing space and it was never close again as Panathinaikos cruised home.