THIS was the Kostas Sloukas Panathinaikos fans dreamed of when he signed his contract last summer.
The match: Panathinaikos – Maccabi
As in the first match of the series, so too at the start of Game 2, Maccabi was very accurate on shots inside the guys and tried to re-impose their offensive rhythm. And he largely succeeded!
Lorenzo Brown distributed and scored while Jake Cohen was again the “x factor” of the Israelis in the first part of the match as with 10 points he brought Maccabi to +7 (16-23) having 7/7 two-pointers! The defense of Panathinaikos was very bad during this period, as a result of which the 1st period ended with the score at 20-28 in favor of the visitors.
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Oded Katas’ team had up to that point 8/9 two-pointers, 4/7 three-pointers, 6-1 rebounds and 8 assists for 2 errors, while respectively the “greens” had counted 7/14 two-pointers, 2/4 three-pointers, 3 -3 rebounds and 4 assists for 1 error. The problem was mainly defensive, with Maccabi players finding their way to the Panathinaikos basket with typical ease, as evidenced by 12/16 shots.
With Kalaitzakis in the “3”, Papapetrou in the “4” and Antetokounmpo in the “5”, Panathinaikos became more “tough” in defense and tried to “nibble” the difference, having the duo of Sluka and Vildosa in the guards. He partially succeeded by reducing it to 30-33 at 14′ while also missing three opportunities to equalize. Maccabi “answered” with 3-0 for 30-36 and the new difference in the two possessions. Brown masterfully led his team during that time, being the best player on the floor.
From that point on came the… ups and downs! The captain of Panathinaikos gave the big signal of the counterattack and with 13 points in the 2nd period, having hit three three-pointers in a row, the “greens” made an impressive 19-2 (!) and found themselves leading by 11 points (49-38) having effected the total overthrow. A period where the defense was nothing like the first quarter.
In fact, the half ended with Panathinaikos leading by 12 points (51-39), the biggest in the entire first half of the game. It is typical that the partial score of the 2nd period was 31-11 (!!!) with Slukas having 15 points with 3/3 two-pointers and 3/5 three-pointers, Mitoglou another 8 points and 4 rebounds and Papapetrou (6p. ) to help a lot in the defense against Coulson. Maccabi’s accuracy stopped from one point and then closing the half with 11/17 2-pointers, 5/13 3-pointers, 2/4 shots, 9-4 rebounds and 13 assists for 6 turnovers. Accordingly, Panathinaikos had 13/20 two-pointers, 6/14 three-pointers, 7/8 shots, 10-6 rebounds and 10 assists for 4 errors.
At the start of the second half, Panathinaikos was leading by 17 points (56-39 at 22′), having started with a 5-0 run. And it didn’t stop there. With Nan and Papapetrou entering the equation, the score index reached +18 (64-46 at 25′) with the “greens” being dominant on both sides of the floor. Maccabi may have cursed solutions with Tamir Blatt’s long shots but the “greens” controlled the match and kept a difference of 15 points (71-56) before accepting a 4-0 run in the final seconds for 71-60. Kostas Sloukas was unstoppable (22 points) but shortly before the end of the 4th period he was charged with a 4th foul.
As it turned out in hindsight, this period completely disorganized the Greek team, which suffered a sudden… blackout and received a total 12-0 run for 71-68 at 32′! The offense seemed to “stick” while Maccabi grabbed the rebounds and “hit” in transition getting points with full-court passes. Essentially, Katas’ “zone” was the one that changed the image of the match, as a result of which the Israelis came within one possession, having returned from -18. Since then and after the defenses came out, the ball was “resting” a lot on Lesor, as a result of which Panathinaikos once again took a double-digit lead (84-70 at 36′).
The quarters: 20-28, 51-39, 71-60, 95-79.
Panathinaikos – Maccabi 1-1
Game 1: Panathinaikos – Maccabi 87-91
Game 2: Panathinaikos – Maccabi 95-79
Game 3: Maccabi – Panathinaikos (30/4, 20:00)
Game 4: Maccabi – Panathinaikos (2/5, 21:45, if necessary)
Game 5: Panathinaikos – Maccabi (8/5, if necessary)
Source: www.gazzetta.gr
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