Valencia displayed a great all-around performance to defeat Panathinaikos 89-79, on the road in Greece, in Round 14 of the EuroLeague.
Panathinaikos entered this game with four straight wins in the EuroLeague, bolstered primarily by the arrival of former NBA center Kenneth Faried, who also received his trophy for EuroLeague MVP for the month of November before the game. Conversely, Valencia had two consecutive 26-point wins against Girona and Bayern respectively before this contest, so they travelled to Greece with plenty of confidence.
The game was very even through the first half. Valencia was scoring by committee and did a great job of securing the boards with Ergin Ataman‘s side having only one offensive rebound. But they did not have an answer for the tandem of Kendrick Nunn and T.J. Shorts early on, as they combined for 24 points between them to give Panathinaikos a 44-38 halftime lead.
Valencia got off to a great start in the second half with a 9-0 run to reclaim the lead, primarily through Omari Moore and Kenneth Taylor, who were giving the Panathinaikos defense fits with their excellent penetration and precise outside shooting. Pedro Martinez kept insisting on his recognizable fast pace and quick shot selection led by Darius Thompson, who had total control of the ball against Panathinaikos’ pressure, and even though Valencia was not shooting so well from three, they were dictating the tempo of the game.
Panathinaikos kept depending on Nunn to carry the scoring and Kostas Sloukas woke up in the third, but there was no production at all from Kenneth Faried. After a terrific start to his EuroLeague stint, the big man quickly got into foul trouble and had costly turnovers, forcing coach Ergin Ataman to adjust and put him on the bench, as Valencia had a 65-61 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Manimal, aka @KennethFaried35, receives his November MVP award! 🤩
— EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) December 5, 2025
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Claim Now The Spanish side then started mixing different zones on defense which really disrupted Panathinaikos’ rhythm, forcing Nikos Rokgavopoulos and Konstantinos Mitoglou to take difficult threes, while Matthew Costello and Nathan Reuvers started bringing an inside presence on the other side allowing Valencia to take a 75-65 lead.
Jerian Grant became a terror late in the game, stealing the ball in Valencia’s backcourt multiple times and leading to quick transition baskets to make it a 77-74 game, and it became a sloppy game late with both teams committing many turnovers (finishing on a combined 37 for the game). Then, Darius Thompson, who had a great all-around impact during the game, made a huge play with a monster dunk on Juancho Hernangomez.
DARIUS. WOW. @valenciabasket #MotorolaMagicMoment | @Moto pic.twitter.com/rEWksAjHTH
— EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) December 5, 2025
Valencia kept getting offensive rebounds against Ataman’s four-guard lineup and finally found a way to stop Nunn on the other end. This frustrated Nunn, who once again got an unsportsmanlike foul late after getting angry at his team losing. With no other players in form, the Greek team could only watch as Valencia got a massive win on the road to improve their record to 9-5 in the EuroLeague.
Kameron Taylor'a dirsek atan Kendrick Nunn'a sportmenlik dışı faul çalındı.
— Euroleague Time (@euroleague_time) December 5, 2025
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Even though it is difficult to pick one standout performer for Valencia, the crown has to go to Darius Thompson, who had 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists, with Kenneth Taylor adding 16 more. Kendrick Nunn had 23 points and T.J. Shorts added 19, but it was not enough for the Greek side.
Panathinakos’ next game in the EuroLeague will be on the road against Milano on December 11th, while Valencia will welcome Anadolu Efes in Round 15.
