Olympiacos Piraeus finished the 2020-21 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season in style by downing Khimki Moscow Region 82-75 at home on Friday.
Olympiacos finishes season with a win
Game Report
1 min read
Regular Season
Round 34 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Olympiacos Piraeus finished the 2020-21 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season in style by downing Khimki Moscow Region 82-75 at home on Friday. Olympiacos finished 12th overall with a 16-18 record after recording its fifth win in seven games. Khimki finished the 2020-21 season at the bottom of the standings with a 4-30 record. Sasha Vezenkov led the winners with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Georgios Printezis added 14 points and Octavius Ellis 11 while Vasilis Charalampopoulos, Kosta Koufos and Shaquielle McKissic each scored 10 for Olympiacos. Errick McCollum led Khimki with 17 points. Egor Vialtsev added 14 and Sergey Karasev 12. Olympiacos led 24-18 after 10 minutes but Khimki rallied to get a 37-41 margin on a three-pointer by Anton Ponkrashov. Olympiacos regained a 42-41 edge at the break, extending that to 63-55 after three quarters and then again to 79-66 to seal the outcome way before the final buzzer.
Vladislav Sharapov scored down low and Karasev added a jumper for Khimki but Vezenkov soon tied it at 4-4. Karasev buried a rainbow triple that Vezenkov answered with a jump hook and Charalampopoulos added a layup for an 8-7 Olympiacos lead. Vialtsev sank back-to-back three-pointers before Ellis, Vezenkov, and Charalampopoulos fueled an 11-0 Olympiacos run that made Khimki call timeout at 19-15. Evgeny Valiev scored in the paint, Sergey Monia and Charalampopoulos each struck from downtown, and a put-back layup by Vezenkov fixed the score at 24-18 after 10 minutes. Printezis took over with a three-point play and a layup early in the second quarter. Sharapov and Koufos traded layups and McCollum added a three-point play to get Khimki within 31-23. Koufos scored twice in the paint but Monia and McCollum fueled a 0-10 Khimki run, getting help from McCollum and Ponkrashov to give Khimki a 37-41 lead. Kostas Sloukas buried a triple and fed Koufos for a layup that restored a 42-41 Olympiacos lead at the half.
Vezenkov struck from deep soon after the break to start a 12-0 run that Charalampopoulos finished with a fastbreak layup. Karasev and Ponkrashov tried to change things for Khimki but Ellis gave Olympiacos a 52-48 lead. Karasev kept pacing the guests while McKissic and Vezenkov stepped up to keep the Reds out of trouble, 61-53. Voronov and Printezis traded layups for a 63-55 score after 30 minutes. Printezis scored again early in the fourth quarter. Vialtsev sank his fourth three-pointer, which Vezenkov matched with a layup-plus-free throw. Vialtsev buried a jumper and McCollum added a triple that gave Khimki hope at 70-63, with 6 minutes left. McKissic dunked and Printezis boosted the Reds' lead to 74-63. Evgeny Voronov sank one from downtown but McKissic scored in penetration and a three-pointer by Printezis sealed the outcome, 79-66, with 3 minutes to go.
Game Leaders
Pivotal performer
Sasha Vezenkov had yet another big game for Olympiacos, being highly effective at both ends. He finished the game with 20 points on 6-of-8 two-point shooting and 11 rebounds – including a career-high 9 defensive boards – plus an assist, a steal, and 4 fouls drawn for a PIR of 31.
Game-changing moment
Anton Ponkrashov hit a triple from the top of the key for a 37-41 Khimki lead in the first half. Kostas Sloukas answered from downtown, igniting a 12-0 run that extended into the third quarter. Vezenkov joined the three-point shootout and Vasilis Charalampopoulos capped it with a fastbreak layup for a 49-41 Olympiacos lead, giving the Reds full control.
Stellar stat
Olympiacos dominated in the paint, hitting 24-of-35 two-point shots (68.6%). Khimki struggled to score around the basket, making such 13 of 34 two-point shots (38.2%). Olympiacos got 10 steals and Khimki picked up 15 turnovers.
Did you know?
Vassilis Spanoulis became the first player to break the 1,600-assist mark in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague history. Spanoulis had 9 assists against Khimki and leads the all-time standings with 1,607. He is also the all-time scoring leader with 4,455 points.
Next game
Both teams finished their respective EuroLeague campaigns on Friday.