Panathinaikos Beats Baskonia 85–79 on Late 3-Pointers
Mathias Lessort scores 20 off the bench as Panathinaikos moves to 6–1 and Baskonia falls to 1–6
Baskonia came back from 10 points down in the fourth quarter, went ahead 70–69 with just over six minutes left and tied the game at 79 with 1:27 to go. Sylvain Francisco's go-ahead 3-pointer came from Mathias Lessort's pass, and Guerschon Yabusele's came from Francisco's with 38 seconds left.
Lessort scored 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting inside the arc, seven of them in a row late in the fourth quarter. Nigel Hayes-Davis added 18 points and seven rebounds, Francisco had 10 points and 11 assists, and Kendrick Nunn scored 11.
Panathinaikos made only seven of 27 3-point attempts but 27 of 36 inside the arc, and outrebounded Baskonia 34–29.
Matteo Spagnolo led Baskonia with 16 points, Stefan Joksimovic scored 13 and Clement Frisch had 11. Baskonia is last in the standings.
Panathinaikos had lost its last home game, to Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Sylvain Francisco and Guerschon Yabusele hit back-to-back 3-pointers after Baskonia tied the game late, and Panathinaikos beat Baskonia 85–79 in Athens to go to 6–1.
Baskonia led 21–20 after the first quarter. Zeljko Obradovic's team led 43–40 at halftime and 63–54 after three quarters, and Kendrick Nunn's basket made it 67–57 early in the fourth.
Velimir Perasovic's Baskonia then scored 13 of the next 15 points. Clement Frisch, Stefan Joksimovic and Damion Baugh all scored in the run, and Marcio Santos's basket put Baskonia ahead 70–69 with 6:20 left.
Nunn hit a 3-pointer to put Panathinaikos back in front, and Frisch tied it at 72. Mathias Lessort then scored seven straight points, on a three-point play from Francisco's pass and two more baskets, for 79–72 with 3:27 left.
Baskonia answered with seven straight points. Joksimovic hit a 3-pointer, A.J. Lawson made two free throws, and Kenneth Faried scored from Matteo Spagnolo's pass to tie it at 79 with 1:27 left.
Francisco then hit a 3-pointer from Lessort's pass with 1:09 left. Lawson missed from 3-point range, and Yabusele hit another 3-pointer from Francisco's pass with 38 seconds left. Joksimovic missed a 3-pointer on Baskonia's next trip.
Lessort scored 20 points in just over 24 minutes off the bench. He made nine of 10 shots inside the arc, had six rebounds, five of them offensive, and finished with a PIR of 28. Nigel Hayes-Davis added 18 points and seven rebounds, and Nunn scored 11 with five assists. Francisco had 10 points, 11 assists and five turnovers. Yabusele scored nine.
Panathinaikos made only seven of 27 3-point attempts but 27 of 36 inside the arc. It had 23 assists and 16 turnovers and outrebounded Baskonia 34–29.
Spagnolo led Baskonia with 16 points and four assists, and Joksimovic scored 13. Frisch had 11 and Tadas Sedekerskis 10. Baskonia made six of 21 3-pointers.
Baskonia is 1–6 and last in the standings. Panathinaikos had lost its last home game, to Hapoel Tel Aviv.