Nick Calathes and Panathinaikos stun CSKA Moscow

In another EuroLeague classic, Nick Calathes made a crazy three-pointer at the buzzer, and Panathinaikos upset CSKA in Moscow on Friday night. Thanks to this victory (77-78), the Greek club boosted its chances to reach the playoffs.

This was the fourth straight win for the “Greens” and the fifth in the last six games. On the other hand, the Muscovites saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end. Panathinaikos improved to a 13-13 record, whereas CSKA Moscow dropped to 20-6.

The Russian hosts controlled the game in the first half (41-35). Yet, the Greek visitors stayed close and remained competitive until the end (59-58).

Rick Pitino’s team trailed by two points (77-75) with 10 seconds to go. Then Cory Higgins missed a free throw for CSKA, and Nick Calathes made a deep three-pointer at the other end to stun CSKA (77-78). This was the first win for Panathinaikos over CSKA in Moscow in eight years.

Nick Calathes eventually finished the game with 11 points and nine assists. Three more players scored in double digits for the Greek winners. On the other hand, Sergio Rodriguez (23 points) and Higgins (14 points) stood out for the losing squad.

In the other classic EuroLeague derby that took place on Friday, Fenerbahce survived Barcelona at home (88-82).

Thanks to a 36-21 run in the fourth quarter, the Turks came back from a double-digit deficit and earned the victory.

Although Barcelona had a better start (16-23), Fenerbahce quickly turned things around. As a result, the Turks closed the first half by just one point behind (37-38).

Nevertheless, Barcelona stepped up and extended their lead to 13 points in the middle of the third quarter (37-50). They remained in control until the final minutes of the game (66-76).

However, Fenerbahce bounced back and closed the game on a 22-6 run to ultimately win the game (88-82).

Kostas Sloukas was the best player of the winning home team, with a game-high 22 points and 11 assists. Bobby Dixon was the one who kept Fenerbache alive in the first half and finished the game with 19 points. Nicolo Melli added 13 points.

Five players scored in double figures for Barcelona, with Jaka Blazic having a team-high 15 points.

Fenerbahce improved to 22-4 record and is most likely to finish atop at the final standings of the regular season. Barcelona, on the other hand, dropped to a 15-11 record.