Olympiacos fall short in Moscow
EUROLEAGUE REGULAR SEASON - ROUND 5
| CSKA Moscow | 69 - 65 | Olympiacos |
|---|---|---|
| (13 - 15) (31 - 35) (51 - 44) (98 - 71) |
Costly fourth quarter misses saw Olympiacos slip to a narrow defeat against CSKA Moscow in the EuroLeague on Thursday evening…
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Olympiacos’ push for a fourth quarter comeback fell short in Moscow on Thursday night as the Piraeus giants succumbed to a 69-65 defeat at the hands of CSKA Moscow.
Trailing by eight points through three quarters, Olympiacos fought back to pull level in the fourth quarter but missed chances to pull in front prevented Olympiacos from stealing a win in the Russian capital.
On a night that he wasn’t named to the starting lineup, Vassilis Spanoulis notched 16 points off the bench to lead Olympiacos scorers in the defeat. Georgios Printezis added 14 points while Nigel Williams-Goss scored a further 13 points for the Erythrolefki, who had just six players hit the scoresheet.
Axel Toupane, who started in place of Spanoulis, was held pointless on the night after going 0-for-5 from the field in just over 15 and a half minutes of action at Moscow’s Megasport Arena.
CSKA had scoring problems of their own as the always reliable Nando de Colo failed to score on the night, paving the way for Sergio Rodriguez to lead CSKA in scoring thanks to the Spaniard’s 20-point effort. Will Clyburn was also instrumental for the Russian giants as he nearly notched a double-double with 17 points and 9 rebounds.
In what began as a defensive battle, Olympiacos emerged from the first quarter with a slight advantage as the Piraeus giants held a 15-13 lead at the end of the first frame.
David Blatt’s men continued to dictate proceedings in the second quarter, though very little separated the two sides heading into halftime despite a four-point lead (35-31) for Olympiacos.
In the third quarter, however, it was CSKA’s turn to dominate and the Russian side did so with a 21-9 run in the frame that seemingly turned the tables on Olympiacos as the Russians grabbed a 52-44 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Olympiacos pressed in the fourth quarter and eventually pulled level with their hosts thanks to three-pointer from Spanoulis to tie the game at 61-61 with just over three minutes left in the fourth quarter.
After both sides traded baskets, Olympiacos twice missed opportunities to take the lead: first from an air ball off a shot from Spanoulis and another by a tough miss from Toupane after Olympiacos were able to claim an offensive rebound.
CSKA would wrap-up their fifth win in five EuroLeague outings by taking care of business at the foul line as Olympiacos, who lost Kostas Papanikolaou to a suspect fifth foul call late on, were unable to slow down a red-hot CSKA side that continue to set the pace in the EuroLeague.
The loss takes Olympiacos to 3-2 on the season with a tough stretch of EuroLeague encounters on the horizon beginning with a trip to archrival Panathinaikos next week. First, however, Olympiacos will look to progress to the semifinals of the Greek Cup when they clash with Kolossos in Piraeus on Sunday.
