Panathinaikos OPAP Athens claimed a solid 96-81 win over shorthanded Zenit St Petersburg at OAKA on Friday night. The hosts dominated 30-8 in the first quarter, but their 13 first-half turnovers allowed Zenit to stay alive and come within 60-55 later in the third. Timely three-pointers by DeShaun Thomas and Tyrese Rice in the final quarter ended up breaking Zenit's resistance and pushing Panathinaikos to its fifth straight home win after two losses on the road. The Greens improved to 14-10 to solidify their sixth-place standing while Zenit dropped to 7-17 alongside FC Bayern Munich in last place. Thomas led the way for the winners with 27 points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting and 6 rebounds. Rice and Konstantinos Mitoglou added 15 and 11 points, respectively. Gustavo Ayon posted 21 points and Will Thomas added 10 for Zenit.
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