Panathinaikos OPAP Athens got back on the winning path by defeating visiting Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 81-63 at OAKA on Thursday night.
The hosts rolled in the first quarter to lead 25-9, but Maccabi managed to trim the deficit to only 3 points at the end of the third. A strong defensive effort, which held the visitors scoreless for 5 minutes, allowed the Greens to recover a double-digit advantage midway through the last quarter and escape with the win. Panathinaikos snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 10-17, while Maccabi dropped to 11-16. Ioannis Papapetrou led the winners with 20 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting.
He was followed by Aaron White with 15 points and 7 rebounds, Dinos Mitoglu provided 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists and Mario Hezonja added another 12 points for the hosts. Scottie Wilbekin bounced back from a scoreless game against Valencia Basket with 14 points on 4-of-9 three-point shooting to pace Maccabi.
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