Olympiacos beats Anadolu Efes 89-66 in EuroLeague to return to winning ways

Opening quarters

Olympiacos started quickly in the Sunel Arena and led 26-16 after the first ten minutes, according to Το Βήμα and iefimerida.gr. Bezenkov scored early and Warde pushed the lead to 5-0, before Strazel replied for Efes. Olympiacos had a 9-0 run that gave it a 10-point advantage, according to NewsIT.

Second quarter slump

The second quarter was the weak point for the home side. Efes ran a 9-2 spurt and got within three points at 28-25 in the 14th minute, according to Το Βήμα. NewsIT reported a 7-0 Efes run that brought the visitors to within one point before a Papanikolaou three-pointer after a timeout steadied the hosts. Both teams went into the break at 35-31, according to several reports, with Olympiacos shooting 16% from three-point range in the first half according to iefimerida.gr.

Third quarter surge

After the break Olympiacos regained control. Miller-McIntyre scored four straight points in the third quarter, and the lead reached 46-36 in the 24th minute according to Το Βήμα. A 19-5 run took the hosts to 54-36 in the 26th minute, with Miller-McIntyre, Ward and Milutinov standing out, according to Το Βήμα. Efes cut the gap to 58-44 in the 28th minute, but Montero's late basket made it 62-49 at the end of the third quarter, according to NewsIT.

Final period and key contributors

Olympiacos managed the final period without much pressure and the score ended 89-66. Miller-McIntyre finished with 8 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 steal, while Jones added 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, according to Το Βήμα. Montero scored 16 points with 3 assists and 3 rebounds, and Papanikolaou had 8 points and 4 rebounds. For Efes, Dozier scored 11 points and Lloyd added 10 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds, according to Το Βήμα. Efes lost its third straight away game, according to Η Ναυτεμπορική, and dropped to 1-3.

Context for the coach

In the view of Η Ναυτεμπορική, Bartzokas was able to give playing time to his bench in the final period. Olympiacos has conceded an average of 92 points in its three away games, according to Η Καθημερινή, which noted that the defense returned to a 66-point allowance against Efes.