Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens ended its 12-year wait to return to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four by overcoming Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, 81-72, in a very intensely contested Game 5 decider on Tuesday.
Maccabi had the better of the opening exchanges, but Panathinaikos was spurred on by an electric atmosphere to gradually pull back and it was tied, 41-41, at halftime. The third quarter saw plenty of lead changes, ending with the hosts up 58-56 before the Greens scored the first 6 points of the fourth quarter to take control for good.
Kendrick Nunn again led Panathinaikos with 26 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting, while Kostas Sloukas, who ended the game injured, scored 15. Mathias Lessort netted 9 points despite missing 11 free throws and added 11 rebounds, while Juancho Hernangomez scored 11 and Ioannis Papapetrou contributed 10.
Lorenzo Brown led Maccabi from the backcourt with 19 points and 7 assists, and Josh Nebo provided power in the paint with 14 points and 7 rebounds.
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