Olympiacos Piraeus advanced on Friday night after its reserves changed the rhythm of the game and Evan Fournier closed out the contest with a dominant fourth-quarter stretch in a 98–86 win over Paris Basketball at Peace and Friendship Stadium.
The opening period favored Paris, which built a 29–21 lead behind Justin Robinson’s five three-pointers. His 5-for-6 burst set a club record for most threes in a single quarter.
Olympiacos struggled early from the perimeter as its starters searched for continuity. The momentum shifted when the bench entered in the second quarter.
Alec Peters opened the frame with four straight points before former Paris player Tyson Ward added eight more. Kostas Papanikolaou followed with a three that trimmed the margin to 37–38.
Peters, Ward and Donta Hall kept applying pressure, each scoring four points as Olympiacos built a 52–44 advantage. Ward produced all 12 of his points in the quarter, helping the second unit outscore the starters 37–21 in the first half.
The hosts raised their defensive activity as Ward, Hall and Papanikolaou pushed the physical battle. Their collective effort forced turnovers, leading to 18 points in transition during the half.
On offense, Olympiacos generated 17 assists before the break and posted 37 second-quarter points, its third-highest single-quarter total since 2007–08. The Reds entered halftime ahead 58–49.
Paris responded in the third, using a 10–1 run to cut the deficit to 72–69. Robinson remained the key threat, reaching 35 points and tying the score at 81–78 with his seventh three of the night.
Fournier shifted the outcome in the fourth. Coming off the bench, he generated clean looks for teammates and found Thomas Walkup for a corner three.
He then forced a turnover by Robinson, leading to an unsportsmanlike foul drawn by Walkup on the break. Walkup converted both free throws, and Fournier followed by hitting his fourth triple.
The guard continued to influence the game defensively, collecting another steal and finishing a transition layup to cap a 10–0 run. He ended with a season-high 18 points on 4-for-9 shooting from deep.
Olympiacos improved to 8–4, remaining second in the EuroLeague standings. Paris fell to 5–7 and will aim to reset before its next trip.
Olympiacos visits Crvena Zvezda next Wednesday, while Paris heads to Dubai Basketball on Tuesday.
