Inspired by the debut of Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino on its bench, Panathinaikos OPAP Athens knocked off mighty visitor CSKA Moscow by 96-84 on Friday to finish the first half of the regular season in high style. Panathinaikos raised its record to 7-8 in what was just its fifth victory in the last 18 tries against CSKA since 2011. CSKA dropped to 11-4 with its fourth defeat in the last five road games but remains in third place. A 36-point second-quarter explosion marked an 18-point turnaround on the scoreboard. Panathinaikos stayed ahead the rest of the way, although CSKA drew within 72-70 early in the final quarter. Ioannis Papapetrou scored 17 points in his return from injury to lead the winners. Nick Calathes scored 14 to go with his 10 assists, while Stephane Lasme had 13 points. Lukas Lekavicius and James Gist came off the bench for 11 points each. Will Clyburn had a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double for CSKA. Nando De Colo added 17 points, while Cory Higgins scored 12 and Othello Hunter 11.
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