Darussafaka prevails for dramatic win over Panathinaikos

In a game that went down to the final minute, Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul came up with big plays when they counted most to down Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens 77-72 on Friday night at the Volkswagen Arena. The victory boosted Darussafaka's record to 12-12, good for ninth place, one victory out of the playoff places. Panathinaikos dropped to 14-10, fifth best record in the competition, and the same as Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade. Panathinaikos was able to at least hold a tie-breaker against Darussafaka, due to its six-point win earlier in the season. The teams traded blows and each came up with runs of its own during the game, but the score was tied at 72-72 going into the last 2 minutes. That is when Brad Wanamaker hit a three-pointer, Will Clyburn beat the shot-clock with an impossible jumper, before James Anderson blocked a pair of shots in the final 45 seconds, securing Darussafaka's win. Wanamaker finished with 24 points and 6 rebounds. Anderson collected 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Clyburn and Dairis Bertans netted 12 apiece in victory. Chris Singleton scored 23 points shooting 4-for-5 from three-point land for Panathinaikos. K.C. Rivers added 12, and Ioannis Bourousis had 10 points plus 8 rebounds in defeat.

Darussafaka made the first run, with Ante Zizic grabbing 4 offensive rebounds, Clyburn hitting a rainbow three and Anderson scoring twice from close range to make it 11-4. But Panathinaikos answered with a three-pointer from Singleton that sparked a 0-7 run, and Mike James beat the buzzer with a three-pointer to make it 17-17 after 10 minutes. Wanamaker scored 5 points to open second quarter, before Rivers and James each hit from downtown once, and Bourousis hit back-to-back triples in a 4-16 spurt that gave the visitors a 26-33 advantage. However, Darussafaka kept Panathinaikos scoreless for the final 3:33 of the half, with Wanamaker, Bertans and Anderson putting together a 9-0 run that made it 35-33 at halftime. James Feldeine and Clyburn traded three-pointers to start third quarter, before Anderson had a fastbreak dunk. Wanamaker added a shot-clock beating triple, followed by a three-point play, helping the hosts to go up 48-36. Rivers ended Panathinaikos's scoring drought of longer than 5 minutes before threes from Singleton and Feldeine capped a 0-13 run that had the visitors back in front, 48-49. The teams entered the final quarter tied at 53-53, but Singleton scored from the inside and the outside, then Rivers hit from long range, to give Panathinaikos a 55-61 advantage. The hosts answered with 8 consecutive points, a run that was capped by Clyburn’s fastbreak slam. More threes, from Singleton and James, put Panathinaikos up again, but Wanamaker hit a step-back baseline jumper that sent the game to the final 2 minutes tied at 72-72. That's when Wanamaker hit an open three which put Darussafaka up for good. Clyburn added a tough, long off-balance jumper, before Anderson's blocks sealed the deal.