Olympiacos produce stunning comeback to defeat Khimki  

EUROLEAGUE REGULAR SEASON - ROUND 14

Olympiacos produced a stunning comeback to defeat Khimki 109-98 in overtime at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in the EuroLeague regular season.

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The Greek hosts were trailing Khimki by nine points with only 01:24 left on the clock. However, Olympiacos came back from the dead, somehow salvaging the game in dramatic fashion as Vassilis Spanoulis nailed a three-pointer with 19 seconds remaining. Olympiacos subsequently dominated the extra frame against a visibly deflated Khimki side.

Despite the defeat, Khimki star Alexey Shved enjoyed a match to remember, draining seven three-pointers as he came close to practically single-handedly beating Olympiacos in Piraeus. Shved gained an overall haul of 36 points.

Veterans Spanoulis (18 points, 10 assists, three rebounds), Kostas Papanikolaou (18 points, six rebounds, two assists) and Giorgos Printezis (26 points, seven rebounds, two assists) all stepped up to the plate for the home team, rolling back the years as they gave fantastic performances. Nikola Milutinov was also at his best as he registered 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Olympiacos improve to a 6-8 record as their pursuit of the playoffs continues. They had lost their last two consecutive games.

Khimki, for their part, possess an equal split with seven wins and seven losses.

On Friday, Olympiacos will face Red Star Belgrade in Serbia, while Khimki host Zalgiris in Mytishchi.

THE MATCH

In a game which was hotly contested throughout, Olympiacos edged an exciting first period, with Papanikolaou knocking down a three-point attempt to get the home fans on their feet.

Having gained a 25-20 lead in the opening quarter, the Erythrolefki kept Khimki at bay in the second, but Kestutis Kemzura was forced into calling a time-out when Shved scored from behind the arc to reduce the deficit to two points for Khimki

The Russian visitors, continuing to keep within touching distance of Olympiacos, shaded their opponents 25-21 in the third quarter and moved ahead in the fourth as Shved once again hit the target from downtown.

All of a sudden, all of the momentum was with Khimki, as the Russians rapidly gained full control of the match. Dictating the play, Khimki were killing Olympiacos with their deadly shooting from the three-point line, and the game looked over for the Greeks as the away side held a 94-85 advantage with 01:24 remaining.

Khimki, however, contrived to capitulate.

The turning point was when Sergei Karasev committed an avoidable offensive foul against Brandon Paul with Khimki leading by six.

With Khimki falling apart, Olympiacos sensed blood, and Spanoulis’ accurate three-pointer took the match into overtime locked at 96-96.

On the front foot, Olympiacos restricted Khimki to a mere two points in the extra five minutes, scoring 13 points of their own to clinch a memorable victory in front of their jubilant supporters.

HIGHLIGHTS

by Shaun Nicolaides

Image Source: sportfm.gr

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