Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens delivered one of its most convincing performances of the season Tuesday, defeating FC Barcelona 93-79 at Palau Blaugrana in Round 36 of the EuroLeague regular season.
The result carried major implications in the standings, as Panathinaikos improved to 20-15 and moved into a tie with Barcelona for seventh place with two rounds remaining.
The victory also ended a historic drought. The Greek club had not won a regular-season game in Barcelona since January 10, 2008, and had lost 14 straight games at Palau Blaugrana since its last playoff win there in 2013.
Panathinaikos took control early by pushing the pace and attacking in transition.
Cedi Osman led the opening surge with 12 first-quarter points, helping the visitors build a 20-10 advantage after Juancho Hernangomez finished a fast-break dunk.
Barcelona responded through Myles Cale and Miles Norris, who helped the hosts close the first quarter trailing 27-23.
Panathinaikos regained control in the second quarter behind efficient ball movement and strong guard play from Kostas Sloukas.
The veteran playmaker recorded six points and four assists in the period without committing a turnover, repeatedly creating scoring opportunities in pick-and-roll situations with Mathias Lessort and Nigel Hayes-Davis.
Panathinaikos entered halftime with a 17-point lead after an extremely efficient offensive half.
Ergin Ataman’s team shot 17-of-24 from two-point range and 5-of-7 from three-point distance while outrebounding Barcelona 18-10 and recording 12 assists against only two turnovers.
Kendrick Nunn and Sloukas combined for eight assists before the break, taking advantage of Barcelona’s limited backcourt rotation.
Barcelona played without three primary ball-handlers: Tomas Satoransky, Nico Laprovittola and Juan Nunez.
Panathinaikos expanded the lead immediately after halftime.
Sloukas connected on a pull-up three-pointer to make it 65-44, then found Nunn for a transition dunk on the next possession.
Osman followed with a three-point play that extended the margin to 70-46 as the visitors continued to convert defensive stops into fast-break points.
The game turned historic late in the third quarter.
Nigel Hayes-Davis finished a reverse dunk off a steal before beating the buzzer with a three-pointer that pushed the lead to 80-49.
No EuroLeague team had previously led by more than 30 points at Palau Blaugrana after three quarters.
Osman finished with 21 points to lead seven Panathinaikos players in double figures. Nunn and Sloukas each added 14 points, while Hayes-Davis also scored 14.
Mathias Lessort contributed 10 points and seven rebounds as the visitors controlled the glass 35-23.
Barcelona trimmed the deficit late once the outcome was decided.
Jabari Parker led the hosts with 18 points, while Miles Norris added 15 and Kevin Punter finished with 10.
Panathinaikos remains in Spain for its next game against Valencia, while Barcelona travels to face Monaco later this week. Panathinaikos hosts Anadolu Efes Istanbul on April 17 for the final game of the regular season, while Barcelona hosts FC Bayern Munich on the same day.
