Panathinaikos stayed unbeaten in Group C, set a scoring record and tied the biggest scoring night for any Euroleague team ever by simply overwhelming Chorale Roanne 83-123 in France on Wednesday night. Panathinaikos broke its own record for most points scored on the road in a Euroleague game, as the Greens beat Skipper Bologna 114-118 in double overtime on January 14, 2004. Moreover, Panathinaikos ties the record for most points in a Euroleague game, as Maccabi beat Scavolini 123-73 on November 25, 2004. Andrija Zizic led the winners with 26 points on 10-for-10 two-pointers. Demos Dikoudis added 18, Vassilis Spanoulis had 17, Mike Batiste and Sarunas Jasikevicius each got 11 while Dimitris Diamantidis scored 10 points for the reigning Euroleague champion. Marc Salyers had 17 points for Roanne. Marc-Antoine Pellin and Brion Rush each added 11 while Adam Hess and Pape Badiane got 10 apiece for the hosts, that got as close as 28-29 early in the second quarter. It didn't last long, however, as Panathinaikos broke the game with a 1-19 run and boosted its margin to 39-64 at halftime on a wild triple by Diamantidis. Panathinaikos kept rolling in the second half and cruised to a historical road win. The Greens also dished 30 assists, just one shy from the Euroleague record that Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv holds at 31.
Batiste opened fire with a baseline jumper that Salyers erased with a reverse alleyoop layup for a 2-2 tie. Rush ran the length of the court to find a three-point play but Kostas Tsartsaris and Kennedy Winston made free throws made the Greens regain the lead, 5-6. Badiane swished a mid-range shot but Winston answered with a put-back layup. Roanne tried to run its offense through Salyers without much success while Batiste scored for a 7-10 Panathinaikos lead. Badiane shined with a dunk that Tsartsaris bettered with a three-pointer. Salyers stepped up with a put-back basket and Badiane scored inside but Batiste and Jasikevicius kept the Greens ahead, 13-17. Pellin shined with a big triple but free throws by Diamantidis and Jasikevicius were enough to give the Greens a 16-20 edge. Roanne improved its defense while Pellin fed Will Soliman for an easy basket. Vassilis Spanoulis buried a three-pointer but a second-chance basket by Soliman got the hosts within 20-23. Winston and Jasikevicius made free throws, igniting a 0-6 run that Spanoulis capped for a 20-29 Panathinaikos margin. Salyers beat the buzzer with a driving layup for a 22-29 Roanne deficit after 10 minutes.
 Roanne improved its aggressiveness early in the second quarter. Meanwhile, a free throw by Salyers and a corner triple by Rush got the hosts back in the game, 26-29. Salyers capped a 8-0 run with a layup that made it a one-point game, 28-29. Zizic rescued Panathinaikos with back-to-back layups but a jump hook by Soliman kept the hosts in the game, 30-33. Zizic kept pacing the Greens with free throws but Laurent Cazalon hit a jumper coming off a screen. Dikoudis found his first points on a second-chance basket that Sani Becirovic followed with a fast break layup, good for a 32-39 Panathinaikos lead. Dikoudis took over with a driving layup, as Roanne had troubles to score now. Meanwhile, consective layups by Zizic and Dikoudis forced the hosts to call timeout at 33-45. Panathinaikos kept rolling, as Dikoudis scored twice in the end, Jasikevicius fed Zizic for a three-point play while Diamantidis scored off a steal for a 33-54 margin, after a game-breaking 1-19 run. Pierric Poupet and Salyers made free throws for Roanne but Batiste provided a highlight with a wild dunk. Batiste, Jasikevicius and an incredible buzzer-beating triple by Diamantidis allowed the Greens to reach halftime with a 39-64 margin.
The hosts needed a quick comeback to get back in the game, which sounded like an impossible mission against the reigning Euroleague champion. Even with that, Adam Hess followed free throws with a layup in a 6-0 run that Salyers capped with foul shots for a 45-66 Roanne deficit. Panathinaikos quickly called timeout and kept its momentum going. A three-pointer by Jasikevicius sparked a 7-0 run that Diamantidis capped with a put-back basket for a 45-74 Panathinaikos lead. Hess and Badiane kept trying for Roanne but Dikoudis stroke from downtown to make it a 29-point game, 50-79. Rush and Becirovic traded three-pointers while Salyers hit more free throws for a 55-88 Roanne deficit. Both teams had started to trade baskets at full speed, as the outcome of the game was already clear late in the third quarter. Nikos Hatzivrettas scored in transition for a 59-92 Panathinaikos lead. Badiane shined with a big basket in the low post but an easy layup by Zizic gave Panathinaikos a mammoth 33-point lead, 61-94, after 30 minutes.
Panathinaikos opted to give playing time to rarely-used players, as Efstratios Perperoglou scored right at the start of the fourth quarter. Roanne kept trying, however, as Hall banked in a close jumper, Pellin added a fast break layup while Salyers got Roanne within 67-99. Hatzivrettas buried a triple to make the Greens break the 100-point mark with more than 7 minutes to go. Spanoulis also stroke from downtown while Zizic scored in transition to give the Greens another game-high lead, 69-107. Pellin buried a triple but Spanoulis kept pacing Panathinaikos for a 72-110 margin. Pellin kept trying for Roanne, as the Greens tried to set a new scoring record in the competition. Zizic scored off a pick-and-roll with Becirovic, raising the Greens' lead to 78-117 with 2 minutes remaining. Zizic scored again while Becirovic added a layup to get closer to the scoring record, 78-121. A layup by Winston allowed Panathinaikos to seal a wild night in style.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Euroleague.net
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