Hosts earn their 4th win in 7 rounds; Barcelona move to 2nd spot after loss in Greece
Greek basketball club Olympiacos thrashed Barcelona 95-74 in a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game Thursday as the Spanish giants moved to second spot in the standings after the away loss.
Hosts Olympiacos' French forward Evan Fournier, a former Orlando Magic and New York Knicks player in the NBA, scored a game-high 19 points to be the key player for the home victory at Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus.
Sasha Vezenkov, another Olympiacos forward, produced 18 points for the Piraeus-based club.
American guard Kevin Punter led Barcelona with 18 points.
Chimezie Metu, Barcelona's Nigerian center, had 12 points for the visitors.
Olympiacos, which are now eighth in the EuroLeague standings, took their fourth win in seven rounds during the regular season.
Meanwhile Barcelona, which were the EuroLeague leaders before their defeat in Greece, moved to second spot as they have a 5-2 win/loss record.
Having a game in hand, Zalgiris Kaunas are the leaders. The Lithuanian club has won five games in six appearances. Zalgiris will host France's Monaco on Friday.
- Maccabi Tel Aviv shock Real Madrid with last-second game winner
Israel's Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv stunned Real Madrid 79-78 with a last-second game winner scored by US guard Saben Lee.
In a Round 7 game held at Belgrade's Aleksandar Nikolic Hall, Lee scored a step-back two pointer for Maccabi Tel Aviv with 0.1 seconds remaining.
During the game, Lee racked up 19 points for the victors, including his game winning shot.
Lithuanian guard Rokas Jokubaitis added 17 points for the Israeli team.
Croatian forward Mario Hezonja scored 18 points for Real Madrid, and his Argentine teammate Facundo Campazzo had 16 points for the Spanish powerhouse.
Both clubs have a 3-4 win/loss record in the standings.
- Thursday's results
ALBA Berlin - Anadolu Efes: 70-86
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv - Real Madrid: 79-78
Olympiacos - Barcelona: 95-74
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan - Virtus Segafredo Bologna: 99-90