Panathinaikos defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv by 95:88 on away court in the Game 4 of the EuroLeague quarterfinals.
Good news for Maccabi Tel Aviv was that Wade Baldwin returned to the lineup after missing two games. On the other hand, Ergin Ataman couldn’t count on Juancho Hernangomez due to injury.
Both teams were very efficient in the first quarter, which ended with a 29:26 lead for the Israeli team. Panathinaikos had a better start and quickly took a 20:12 lead, fueled by Kendrick Nunn and Kostas Sloukas. However, Maccabi Tel Aviv players, especially John Dibartolomeo and Tamir Blatt, stepped up and led the Israeli team to a comeback in the first quarter.
The second quarter was marked by a hamstring injury suffered by Wade Baldwin, who immediately went to the locker room. As for the score, neither team managed to establish a significant lead. Nunn was quite active, already scoring 16 points by halftime, while Oded Kattash’s team managed to score collectively. Lorenzo Brown stepped up towards the end of the first half, but the Athens team had a ready answer in the form of the brilliant Kostas Sloukas and Marius Grigonis, so the score after the first 20 minutes of play was 50:49.
KENDRICK NUNN (@nunnbetter_) ๐ฏ#paobc #EuroLeague pic.twitter.com/lyzYxO1NaR
— Basketball Sphere (@BSphere_) May 2, 2024
Ergin Ataman’s team looked better in the third quarter. They played much better defense compared to the previous quarters, which brought them a lead of 74:69 at the end of the third quarter. Dinos Mitoglou and Sloukas were in great form, and Panathinaikos had a good three-point shooting in this quarter.
Maccabi Tel Aviv opened the final quarter in an incredible way. The brilliant play of Brown and Josh Nebo created a 13:1 run, giving the home team a lead of 82:75 with a little over six minutes left in the game. The momentum was broken after a timeout when Ioannis Papapetrou hit a three-pointer, followed by Nunn with another three, bringing the game back to a close finish. Panathinaikos found excellent solutions in offense through Nunn and Sloukas, taking a 93:88 lead with 1:30 left in the game.
Maccabi Tel Aviv was led by Lorenzo Brown with 17 points, alongside Bonzie Colson and Tamir Blatt, who both scored 14 points. In the winning team, Kendrick Nunn was the standout performer with 27 points, while Kostas Sloukas contributed 20.
The series is now tied 2-2, and the decisive game will be played on May 8th in Athens.
MACCABI TEL AVIV – PANATHINAIKOS 88:95 (29:26, 21:23, 19:25, 19:21)
Venue: Aleksandar Nikolic Hall, Belgrade
Referees: Belosevic, Difallah, Nedovic
Maccabi Tel Aviv: Cleveland 5, Webb, Brown 17, Baldwin 3, Sorkin 2, Dibartolomeo 10, Rivero 9, Cohen 2, Thomasson, Nebo 12, Blatt 14, Colson 14
Panathinaikos: Kalaitzakis 2, Vildoza, Balcerowski, Sloukas 20, Papapetrou 8, Grant, Nunn 27, Lessort 17, Antetokounmpo, Grigonis 8, Mitoglou 13, Mantzoukas