LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne confirmed its outstanding form by downing Panathinaikos OPAP Athens 70-84 in the Greek capital on Friday.
ASVEL improved to 5-2 while Panathinaikos dropped to 2-5. Elie Okobo paced the winners with 35 points. Chris Jones added 13 while Kostas Antetokounmpo had 12 for ASVEL.
Daryl Macon and Ioannis Papapetrou led Panathinaikos with 16 points apiece, and Jeremy Evans added 12 for the hosts. Okobo stepped up for ASVEL early in the game and got plenty of help from an outstanding Antetokounmpo - 6 points, 3 rebounds and 3 blocks in under 4 minutes - to give ASVEL a 18-24 lead after 10 minutes.
Macon and Evans gave Panathinaikos a 34-27 margin but David Lighty, Jones and Okobo allowed ASVEL to regain a 38-43 margin at halftime. Nemanja Nedovic stepped up after the break but Okobo kept ASVEL in charge, 55-58, at the end of the third quarter. Okobo took over in the fourth quarter, hitting back-to-back three-pointers in crunch time to seal the outcome down the stretch.
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