Olympiacos bounced back from their loss to Crvena Zvezda with a dominant offensive display at home. Against Xavi Pascual's Dubai Basketball, one of EuroLeague's hottest teams, the defending champions controlled the game from start to finish, led by as much as 32 points, and delivered a historic night for Sasha Vezenkov. With 20 points, the Bulgarian forward surpassed Vassilis Spanoulis to become Olympiacos' all-time leading scorer in EuroLeague competition.
https://youtu.be/k7JDqoIl63w?si=0fR-ze7RW8hWpGwK
Nearly Perfect Shooting Near the Rim
Dubai led briefly in the opening minute with a three-pointer from Mfiondu Kabengele (2-3). Olympiacos responded with a 9-3 run, won the first quarter 25-18, and in the second quarter became a steamroller: they made 19 of their 21 two-point attempts in the first half. Dubai closed to within eight (45-37), but a 7-0 run made it 52-37, and halftime arrived with a 14-point lead (57-43).
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A Dominant Third Quarter: 31-13
The third quarter put the game away. A 14-2 run in three minutes pushed Olympiacos to 78-51, and another 10-2 stretch late in the quarter made it 88-56, the game's largest margin. Evan Fournier, who finished with 28 points on 5-of-7 three-pointers and 5 assists in 27 minutes, was the game's MVP, and Vezenkov finished a perfect 6-of-6 from two-point range. Dubai only made the final score respectable with a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter, with the game already decided.
Dwayne Bacon led Dubai with 20 points, but the visitors committed 13 turnovers compared to just six for Olympiacos. Pascual received a technical foul in the first half.