Lorenzo Brown scored 14 points for Panathinaikos against Maccabi [InTime Sports].
The start of Euroleague’s final double week this season saw Olympiakos lose to Villeurbanne in a below-par performance, while Panathinaikos came back from 15 points down to beat Maccabi Tel Aviv in Belgrade.
Olympiakos remains at the top of the table, but only marginally, as it suffered its second loss in a row, this time on the road, going down 81-70 at ASVEL Villeurbanne in France on Tuesday.
A shadow of its usual self, depleted Olympiakos gave up trying to match its host in the last few minutes, allowing a fairly even game up to the 35th minute to be easily won in the end by the French team that lies low at the table.
The only good news for the Reds from this game was the return to good form by Evan Fournier, who made 25 points on the night to match the tally of Sasha Vezenkov. No other player had any more than five points on the night.
Olympiakos is now on a 22-9 record with three games left till the end of the regular season. It has already secured a top-four finish.
Panathinaikos, on the other hand, still has got work to do to ensure home advantage for the playoffs, but on Wednesday it held on to the third spot with a typical come-from-behind 99-92 win over host Maccabi in Serbia.
The Greens had problems in defense and offense alike in the second and third quarter, losing their early lead (24-16) to a determined opponent.
Yet after they trailed 82-67 early in the final quarter, the Greeks unleashed one of their trademark comeback efforts and scored a partial 18-0 to advance 85-82 and snatch victory in the end.
Panathinaikos, on a 20-11 record now, had Kendrick Nunn back on his prime with 26 points and eight assists, followed by Juancho Hernangomez with 18 points and eight rebounds.
