EuroLeague Roundup: Panathinaikos Falls, Shares Lead with Olympiacos

The double-header week ended with the tightest standings yet. Panathinaikos lost its second game and shares the lead with Olympiacos, while seven teams including Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia Basket cluster at 6-3. At the bottom, Baskonia and Olimpia Milano continue to struggle.

Barcelona 98-94 Valencia Basket

The Spanish matchup was a back-and-forth battle from start to finish. Barcelona opened with five straight three-pointers and Kevin Punter on fire (19-11), but Valencia held its ground with TJ Shorts and Kameron Taylor, taking the lead in the second quarter (37-38) with a sharp-shooting Armoni Brooks. A three-pointer by Tyrese Martin left it 44-42 at halftime, and four straight three-pointers by Joel Parra kept Barcelona ahead at the end of the third quarter (69-68).

The finish was thrilling. Valencia got within one with two minutes left (87-86) and, after a run by Justin Robinson (22 points) that looked decisive (95-91), Brooks brought his team back with a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining (95-94). Darío Brizuela sealed the game with three straight points. Brooks finished with 26 points. Barcelona extends its winning streak to four and ties Valencia at 6-3.

Real Madrid 95-76 Fenerbahçe

Fenerbahçe started strong (22-24 at the end of the first quarter), with Shane Larkin and Baldwin running the offense and a scare for Madrid with a bad fall by Theo Maledon. The game changed in the second quarter with Edy Tavares and Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot, who led a run that sent Madrid into halftime ahead (47-42).

The third quarter (23-13) put the game out of reach. Fenerbahçe got within eight (74-66), but Madrid never suffered again. Maledon, recovered from the scare, scored 26 points and Facundo Campazzo posted 10 points and 10 assists. That's six straight EuroLeague wins and ten across all competitions. Jantunen retired with an ankle issue.

ASVEL 94-79 Baskonia

Baskonia lost again to a lower-tier opponent. ASVEL punished their defense from the start, shooting 6-of-11 from three in the first half, and led by ten at halftime (49-39) after a first quarter of 26-16.

After the break, Baskonia got within six, but Patty Mills (20 points and five three-pointers) restored the double-digit lead and TyTy Washington Jr. (21) put the game away. Kenneth Faried (17 points and 27 efficiency rating) was Baskonia's bright spot as they suffered their seventh straight loss, all under Velimir Perasović, and remain last at 1-8.

See also:

• Maledon leads Madrid past Fenerbahçe, extends streak to six (95-76)
• Efes stuns Panathinaikos in Istanbul (83-68)
• Jabari Parker in Baskonia's orbit

Anadolu Efes 83-68 Panathinaikos

Two days after giving up 118 points to Hapoel, Efes shut down the leader. The Turks controlled from the start (21-11 at the 8-minute mark), forced turnovers in the second quarter, and led by eight at halftime (45-37). By the end of the third quarter, the lead was ten (61-51).

Panathinaikos responded early in the fourth and got within one (66-65), but then went cold. A 14-0 run, with consecutive three-pointers from Cameron Payne and Colin Malcolm, decided the game. Dario Šarić posted a double-double (11 points and 12 rebounds) and Kendrick Nunn (17) led all scorers. The 68 points marked the Greeks' worst output of the season.

Olympiacos 84-78 Olimpia Milano

Olympiacos capitalized on their eternal rival's loss to tie for the lead. Without several of their perimeter players, the Greeks dominated the first quarter (25-19), but Milano responded in the second and reached halftime tied (44-44).

The third quarter (25-17) gave Olympiacos the edge, which they held through Milano's late surge (79-76) from the free-throw line. Codi Miller-McIntyre (24 points) and Sasha Vezenkov (22) combined for 46 points. AJ Cole scored 17 for Milano, who extended their losing streak to seven despite just re-signing Leandro Bolmaro through 2029.

Crvena Zvezda 103-73 Bayern Munich

Ibon Navarro's Crvena Zvezda closed the double-header week with their second dominant home performance. After an even first quarter (19-15), a second quarter of 29-16, with Christian Koloko dominating in the paint (12 points and five blocks in the first half), put the game on track (48-31).

In the second half, the lead kept growing to 30 points. Chima Moneke was the most complete player, with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 29 efficiency rating, and Johnathan Motley returned to EuroLeague action to the roar of the crowd. Bayern extended their losing streak to three and fell to 2-7.

Dubai 97-83 Hapoel Tel Aviv

Xavi Pascual's Dubai bounced back from their loss to Paris with a convincing win. Hapoel won the first quarter (19-22), but Dubai turned it around in the second (45-40 at halftime) and broke the game open in the third (74-60), with Filip Petrušev dominating the paint.

Petrušev finished with 20 points, not missing any of his six two-point attempts. The game had a scare: Tomáš Satoranský fell backward after colliding in the air on a rebound and had to be carried off on a stretcher, though he was conscious. Both teams finish at 6-3.

Žalgiris 87-80 Partizan

Žalgiris completed a perfect double-header week with a lightning-fast start: 15 points in four minutes and 27-21 at the end of the first quarter. Partizan tied it in the second (34-34), but Sterling Brown, facing his former team, restored the Lithuanian lead before halftime (44-40), and the third quarter (25-17) opened a 12-point gap.

Joan Peñarroya's Partizan got within four in the final minutes with Ethan Thompson, but four straight free throws from Carsen Edwards (17 points) sealed the game. Jonas Valančiūnas posted 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 25 efficiency rating, and Keenan Evans was cheered on his return to Kaunas. Žalgiris improves to 5-4 and Partizan falls to 4-5.

Virtus Bologna 101-103 Besiktas

Àlex Mumbrú's Virtus dominated much of the game. After an even first quarter (24-24), they went to halftime up seven (54-47) and led by as much as 15, with Alston Jr. (19) and Frazier (15) leading the way.

With four minutes left, Virtus was up 13, but Besiktas staged a spectacular comeback led by Lonnie Walker IV (30 points), and Conor Morgan completed it with a corner three-pointer with one second left. Virtus extends their losing streak to three.

Maccabi Tel Aviv 94-99 Paris Basketball

In their last home game in Belgrade before moving to Cyprus, Maccabi lost again. Paris started strong (17-25), Maccabi turned it around in the second quarter (36-35 at halftime), and the third ended with a slim French lead (64-65).

The fourth quarter (30-34) went to Paris, who extended their winning streak to two thanks to Nadir Hifi, who scored 26 points after 20 from Dubai. Jimmy Clark (21) led Maccabi, who fall to 2-7.

Standings after Matchday 9