Fenerbahce beats Olympiacos 64-61 in Athens after a 16-point lead slips away

Olympiacos builds a lead without its starters

Olympiacos hosted Fenerbahce at the Sunel Arena in Athens on Friday, 23 October, and went down 64-61 despite controlling most of the game. Jan Montero and Evan Fournier were injured, and according to NEWS 24/7 Tyler Dorsey was serving a penalty, so Giorgos Bartzokas started Tyson Ward at shooting guard. Olympiacos opened with a 17-5 run and led 20-8 after the first quarter, while Fenerbahce made just 3 of 16 shots in that period. At halftime Olympiacos led 34-24, although it had made only 3 of 13 from three-point range, which kept Fenerbahce within reach.

Fenerbahce cuts the gap

Fenerbahce opened the third quarter with a 10-2 run and drew within two points, 36-34, at the 23rd minute. Olympiacos answered with an 8-0 spurt led by Vezenkov and Miller-McIntyre to reach 44-34. Shane Larkin's threes then pulled Fenerbahce back to 49-45 at the end of the third quarter. Olympiacos was ahead 61-56 at the 37th minute after a Tyson Ward basket, but it did not score again, and Fenerbahce took the lead 62-61 before finishing at 64-61.

Missed shots and the bench question

Vezenkov had the last chance, a free three in the closing seconds, and it missed. Olympiacos finished 7 of 28 from beyond the arc, and Fenerbahce committed only eight turnovers, according to Naftemporiki. Vezenkov led Olympiacos with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Miller-McIntyre added 12 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists and Ward scored 11 points with 4 rebounds and 1 assist. For Fenerbahce, Sevon Shields and Wade Baldwin scored 17 and 14 points, and Larkin added 13.

Bartzokas told the flash interview after the game that his bench lacked depth and that one or two bad decisions in the final minutes cost his side.

Our bench was not deep, our options were not many.

Standings and next games

Olympiacos dropped to 5-2 and sits level with Hapoel Tel Aviv and Dubai. Fenerbahce rose to 6-1 and shares the top of the table with Panathinaikos. Sarunas Jasikevicius described the win in his own terms after the match.

Some days you win playing nice basketball and some days playing badly. I just did not expect it to be this ugly.

Fenerbahce plays Valencia on 27 October at 21:30, and Olympiacos visits Besiktas on 28 October at 19:30.