Olympiacos has turned the page on Marcus Carr's buzzer-beater in Bologna. A week after losing on the buzzer to Virtus, the defending EuroLeague champions defeated Anadolu Efes 89-66 in their first home game of the season at SUNEL Arena, their temporary home. It was a game of physical dominance: 49 rebounds to 31, with 21 on the offensive glass. Olympiacos improves to 3-1. Laso's Efes, playing for the first time without Mike James, falls to 1-3.
A dominant first quarter
Olympiacos came out with high intensity and closed the first quarter with a ten-point lead (26-16). Efes responded in the second quarter, with better three-point shooting, and cut the deficit to four at halftime (35-31). In that stretch, Laso's team was the only moment when they seemed to have a chance.
The second half, no contest
After halftime, it was all Olympiacos. The third quarter (27-18) made it 62-49, and the fourth (27-17) turned the game into a blowout. The key was the offensive rebound: with Tyrique Jones (11 points and 6 rebounds) and Nikola Milutinov (9 rebounds in his return after missing two games) dominating the paint, the Greeks strung together second chances. Efes, meanwhile, made just 11 of 28 two-pointers.
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A balanced victory
Jean Montero was Olympiacos's leading scorer with 16 points, followed by Tyrique Jones (11). Sasha Vezenkov, Tyson Ward, and Mbaye Ndiaye each added 9, and twelve local players scored. Even Bryant Dunston, at 40 years old, added his basket.
For Efes, Cameron Payne made his debut with 12 points, PJ Dozier added 11, and Jordan Loyd 10, but the Turkish team never found a way to stop the Greek big men. Efes shot better from three (12 of 31 versus 8 of 29), but lost the battle inside and on the glass.