Olympiacos ties the series with Game 2 win 12

Olympiacos Piraeus overcame Zalgiris Kaunas 79-68 at the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Friday, tying the EuroLeague quarterfinal series at 1-1 ahead of next week’s meetings in Lithuania.

The key to the victory was a 17-2 spurt from Olympiacos to bridge the first and second quarters, and although Zalgiris fought back to tie twice, the visitors could never move ahead and a strong start to the final quarter took the Reds to the finish line.

Jamel McLean – taking an enhanced role due to Nikola Milutinov’s injury – led the scoring with 21 points, while Vassilis Spanoulis netted 17, and Ioannis Papapetrou contributed 9 points and 7 rebounds.

Zalgiris was paced by 20 points from Brandon Davies, while Vasilije Micic combined 13 points and 8 assists and Arturas Milaknis scored 11. But the visiting team was forced into 15 turnovers and was allowed to attempt just 11 three-point by the smothering Olympiacos defense.

McLean’s jumper opened the scoring before Micic answered with a pair of layups for Zalgiris’s first lead. Kevin Pangos hit a triple and Micic nailed a jumper for a 4-9 edge, but McLean made free throws and unleashed a coast-to-coast slam to get it closer. Axel Toupane made a long two and added a reverse, but Spanoulis converted a layup-and-one to make it 11-13, then Kim Tillie tied it up from close range. A technical foul on Zalgiris coach Sarunas Jasikevicius let the hosts go ahead and after Antanas Kavaliauskas converted an offensive board Janis Strelnieks scored Olympiacos’s first three-pointer to make it 17-15 after 10 minutes.

Strelnieks added another triple, Spanoulis did the same, and Papapetrou scored from close range as the Reds went on a 17-2 run for a double-digit lead, 25-15. Kavaliauskas stopped the slide for Zalgiris, but McLean grabbed an offensive board to dunk with a foul. Pangos floated one in and Milaknis hit a triple as Zalgiris tried to fight back, but Spanoulis struck from way downtown to protect his team’s lead. Aaron White exploded an alley-oop but McLean scored twice from close range and Bobby Brown nailed a triple, before White dunked again to make it 41-32 at halftime.

Georgios Printezis scored a floater off the second half’s opening possession, but Milaknis responded immediately from deep. Spanoulis made a jumper that Davies answered with an alley-oop layup. Micic then made a three-pointer and Davies went off the glass to make it a one-possession game. Baskets were evenly traded before the red-hot Davies scored twice in succession to tie it at 50-50. McLean completed a three-point play before the pace of the scoring slowed, with no field goals in nearly 3 minutes before Kavaliauskas netted. Toupane beat the buzzer with a long two at the end of the third quarter to force another tie, 54-54.

Vangelis Mantzaris opened the final period with a three-pointer and Kostas Papanikolaou soon added another to give the Reds a cushion. Olympiacos’s defense flexed its muscles as Zalgiris was held scoreless for more than 5 minutes and Printezis struck a triple to make it 63-54. Davies split free throws but Printezis scored again and McLean netted twice to make it 72-59. Milaknis hit his third triple to give Zalgiris faint hope inside the final 2 minutes. Zalgiris had slim hopes by then, but a huge slam and a triple from Papapetrou sealed the deal for the hosts.

Comments

  1. uz zalgiris

    visa lietuva vel lauks zalgirio pergales kantriai luptis atsidavimu

  2. .

    saras manau prasove starte isleisdamas miciciu vietoj toupano. serbas tik destabilizuoja zaidima. dabar visi atrodo is ritmo iseje

  3. Nepaleiskit pergalės iš rankų!

    Sėkmės!

  4. jaunesnis..

    Visiskai tuscias komandos kapitonas.Antras rungtynes- nulinis.38 metu Fernandesas per 19 min 18 tasku surenka.Sitas 5metais jaunesnis..

  5. normaliai

    jaunesnis nu tu debilas,

  6. normaliai

    tai eik pazaisi uz kapitona

  7. RO

    NU SPECIALIAI NELEIDO GERIAUSIU ZAIDEJU GI SPECIALIAI PANASU,KAD PASIDAVE.KAS ZIURI DAZNIAU ZALGIRI SI SEZONA,VISI TURETU PUIKIAI TAI SUPRASTI.GERIAUSI ZAIDEJAI LEMIAMAIS MOMENTAIS RUNGTYNIU NEZAIDE.KAD VISA RUNGTYNIU LAIKA JIE ZAIST NEGALI,TAI SUPRANTU,BET IR TAI GERIAU BUVO GALIMA SUGALVOTI KEITIMUS.KODEL ? PVZ KODEL PANGOS MILAKNIO TUPANO WHITE JANKUNO NIEKADA NEMATEME AIKSTELEJE VISU PENKIU ZAIDEJU KARTU VIENU METU ? AAA ?

  8. 709

    Nepasiseke tai nepasiseke bet ka padarysi. nesinoretu ketvirto kelinio pakartojimo per likusias rungtynes

  9. RO

    IS REZULTATO ATRODO,KAD BUVO NET SUSITARTA DEL TO KIEK IMES TASKU ABI KOMANDOS JEI PASIZIURI I PRAEITU RUNGTYNIU GALUTINI REZULTATA

  10. RO

    NORISI TIKETI KAD NE

  11. Darius

    Situ rungtyniu nugaletojas buvo nulemtas ne aiksteleje, o tamsiuose eurolygos kabinetuose, gal koridoriuose, o gal tualetuose. Mes esame mazi ir negalime tiketis, kad teisejai bus musu puseje. Mes esame laimingi, jei jie svilpia 50 ant 50. Bet siandien jie uz ausu isvilko olimpiakosui pergale. Ypac dirbo slovenas su ruskiu is Latvijos. Mus uzdauze, o jie tylejo. Pirmas rungtynes mes laimejome, nes musu niekas nevertino, mane olimpiakos pats susitvarkys, bet nepavyko. Mes esame uz juos stipresni, jie gavo 3 syk is eiles, todel dabar eirolyga ijunge presa, mus dusins. Jauciu, kad Zalgiris israus dar 1 pergale, o toliau bus viskas, kaip reikia eurolygai. Mafija. Nesitikekite, kad bus objektyvus teisejavimas. Ir toliau lups Toupane per rankas, Davies gaus prazangas uz tai, kad kvepuoja. Ir panasiai.

  12. Darius

    Labai pikta po vakar rungtyniu, todel parasysiu stai ka, buvo jau daugybe svarbiu rungtyniu, kurias sugadino teisejai. Blazers su Sabu pries Lakers vakaru konferencijos finale, kur is Blazers ateme pergale toks nukrioses nba teisejas kokiu 75 m, Lietuva pries Jugoslavija 1995, kur nba teisejas Toliveris svilpe pries Lietuva, Kroatija pries Ispanija, kur is kroatu pergale pavoge Dovidavicius ir uz tai ir uz kitas ziaurias klaidas pakrate kojas. Pastebejau, kad kai mums svilpia tas slovenas su ruskiu is Latvijos, laimeti praktiskai neimanoma. Paskui laimetojai pamirsta, o mums lieka nuoskaudos, kad neleido issiaiskinti krepsininkams, o rungtynes sugadino svilpukais. Daug tokiu rungtyniu mano galvoje, kur teisejai pakeite cempionato eiga. Bet jei Zalgiris nori laimeti net taip svilpiant, tai turi pradeti zaisti Jankunas. Svarbiausios kovos, o kapitonas dinges.