Emphatic home wins for Reds and Greens in Europe

Panathinaikos and Olympiakos scored emphatic home victories in the Euroleague this week ahead of their head-to-head on Monday for the Greek league.

First up Olympiakos defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday with an 89-72 score in Piraeus for its 12th win in 22 games.

The Greek champion dominated the game from start to finish, reducing its visitor to an also-run in a game that had some spectacular plays.

This match game at the Peace and Friendship Stadium had Nikola Milutinov’s name written all over it, as the Reds’ center scored 20 points and collected 20 rebounds. Isaiah Canaan also scored 20 points.

Then on Friday Panathinaikos overcame the resistance of Zeljko Obradovic’s Partizan Belgrade with an 84-71 result at the Olympic Sports Hall in Athens.

Up to the end of the third quarter (58-58), Panathinaikos and Partizan were neck and neck in this game, but the Greens’ defense made the difference in the last quarter with a partial 26-13 score that gave the host an easy win in the end.

Pacing the Athens giant were Kendrick Nunn with 21 points and Dinos Mitoglou with 16.

Panathinaikos is now alone in fourth at the Euroleague table with a 14-8 record.