Olympiacos Piraeus rallied past Montepaschi Siena 75-82

Olympiacos Piraeus came from behind in the final minutes with its best player on the bench to stun Montepaschi Siena 75-82 in Game 1 of their best-of-five playoffs series on Wednesday. Vassilis Spanoulis fouled out with 4:38 to play and the hosts up 70-67, but Acie Law took over with 5 points – including the go-ahead free throws – and an assist in the remaining time. Joey Dorsey also came up big with a huge put-back slam and a massive block on Bo McCalebb, while Georgios Printezis capped an impressive night with 20 points to lead the Reds. The game was close throughout, though the home team led the vast majority of the game. These teams also met in the playoffs last season, when Olympiacos won Game 1 at home, but Siena took the next three to reach the Final Four. Spanoulis finished with 15 points before fouling out, Kyle Hines scored 13, Law tallied 8 points and 5 assists and Dorsey posted 6 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. David Andersen collected a season-high 26 points plus 7 rebounds to lead Siena, McCalebb scored 15 and Igor Rakocevic 11. Game 2 is in Siena on Friday.

Shaun Stonerook got things going for the hosts when he telepathed a pass and took it in for a slam. Kostas Papanikolaou got the Reds on the scoreboard with a jumper. The nerves were obvious in the early going with turnovers and missed foul shots highlighting the action. McCalebb drove for a score and Rakocevic nailed a triple as the hosts started to take control. A turn-around Andersen jumper made it 9-3. Printezis spun past Stonerook for a bucket and then bounced a pass to Dorsey for a slam to keep Olympiacos alive. A bucket for David Moss made it that all five Montepaschi starters scored. Printezis struck from downtown to make it 15-10 midway through the opening quarter. Papanikolaou trimmed the gap to 2, but in little time a highlight reel steal from Stonerook and pass to McCalebb had the hosts back up 6. Spanoulis pulled up from downtown and Pero Antic attacked the rim for a slam to make it 19-18. An Andersen jumper and then a three kept the hosts ahead. Dorsey dunked as the Reds kept the pressure on, but Andersen scored in the paint to make it 26-21 through 10 minutes.

Kyle Hines went through Ksistof Lavrinovic for a three-point play, but Lavrinovic drew a foul from Hines at the other end. Law set up Marko Keselj, who knotted the score at 26-26. Antic strolled through the lane for a layup that put the Reds on top. After a timeout, a three by Moss put the hosts back ahead. The game stayed tight as Olympiacos regained a slim lead on a Hines put-back slam. A technical foul on Antic opened the door for Siena to flip flop the score on Andersen and Stonerook free throws. McCalebb made it 35-31 from the line midway through the quarter. The visitors rallied back through Hines and Keselj for a 3-point lead. Then McCalebb answered back with 7 straight points plus a turnover that he caused with his defense in between. Spanoulis scored from the line, but Rakocevic added a mid-range jumper to get to 44-40. Then Rakocevic hit 2 from the line and Tomas Ress threw down a two-handed slam on the break to set the halftime score at 48-42.

Spanoulis got to the line for the first 2 points of the second half and then Keselj hit a three from the corner to make it a 1-point game. Spanoulis then capped a 0-7 push, however Andersen answered quickly to put Siena back up 50-49. Keslej buried a triple off an inbounds play. Andersen stepped up again with a triple and then drawing a charge from Spanoulis. Bootsy Thornton extended the difference to 58-53 midway through the quarter as the Siena fans voiced their approval. The lead reached 7 before Hines scored twice to close the gap. Hines late added a free throw to make it 60-58. McCalebb zipped to the basket to give the hosts a cushion after which Spanoulis was called for an offensive foul – his fourth. Then Rakocevic got his hands on an offensive rebound, scored via goaltending and then sank a mid-range jumper as Siena lifted the lead to 66-58.

Nikos Zisis stepped up with a big jumper to give Montepaschi its first double-digit lead. Printezis countered with a triple. Lavrinovic became the first player to foul out, finishing an unproductive individual night without scoring. Law trimmed the gap to 5. Zisis and Spanoulis traded slaloms before Printezis made it 70-67 midway through the fourth quarter. Spanoulis fouled out with 4:38 trying to stop Zisis in the post. But after a timeout, Printezis had the Reds within 1. Dorsey committed his fourth foul at one end, but threw down a Law miss at the other as the Reds went ahead 70-71, however Andersen put the hosts back ahead as the crowd roared with three-plus minutes left. The lead switched sides again as Law hit free throws for the Reds and Andersen then made 1 from the line to tie the score. Law stepped up with a clutch jumper and then Dorsey came up with perhaps the play of the game to reject a McCalebb drive and protect the lead. Printezis knocked down a big three with 1:32 remaining and then McCalebb passed the ball out of bounds as the pressure mounted on the hosts. Law got to the line for 1 more point. Dorsey fouled out with 1:03 left, but McCalebb missed both of the resulting free throws. Hines made it a three-possession game with 39 seconds left to play. Zisis fed Andersen for a quick slam as the hosts started to play the free throw game. Kostas Sloukas, who had not missed from the line all season, split free throws, but Moss missed from downtown and time ran out on Montepaschi in Game 1