Thrilling Showdown: Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Panathinaikos in Decisive Euroleague Game 5

• Published date: 07 May 2024
• Author: JOSHUA HALICKMAN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

With the series now all knotted up at two games a piece, Maccabi will have a tall task as it heads back to OAKA Arena in Athens for the pivotal Game 5, slated for Tuesday at 9:15 pm

Oded Katash's crew was oh-so-close to punching its ticket to the promised land as it was leading by seven points midway through the final frame, with a Final Four berth on the tips of its tongue. But great players make great plays and come up huge when the chips are all in, and that's exactly what Kendrick Nunn and Kostas Sloukas did for Ergin Ataman's squad.

Nunn and Sloukas, along with Mathias Lessort, were so crucial down the stretch as they didn't allow the pressure to faze them in any way shape, or form as time wound down. Only the best of the best know how to manage this sort of intensity, but the likes of Sloukas, who has seen a thing or two in basketball while collecting three Euroleague championships, rise to the occasion when called upon.

Maccabi's Lorenzo Brown was completely aware of how Panathinaikos could make Tel Aviv's life miserable in what was a must-win for the Greek side.

"They were playing great basketball, Nunn came out scorching and we had to put a stop to him and he was pretty much their main guy in the series so shutting him off and Sloukas as well and containing Lessort down in the paint, that's going to be our task for Game 5."

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"We threw a blow, they threw a blow and that is how the game went all night," Nunn said following the game. "It was a tough match, but we came out victorious. We had some big stops late in the game that got us the victory."

"Kendrick scored some incredibly difficult shots. He is the best scorer right now in the EuroLeague, and he showed that tonight," Sloukas added.

Following a zero-point performance on just three shots in Game 3, Sloukas scored right out of the gate when he snagged the ball off the tipoff and easily laid it into the basket for a quick layup and two points. The Greek guard, who crossed the town from Piraeus to OAKA this past offseason, knew exactly the toll it would take on his reputation to make such a move, but he decided to do what was best for him and not the fans as he holds no allegiances.

But one way or another, Sloukas along with Nunn, who was extremely serviceable in the NBA helping the Miami Heat make their way to the 2020 NBA "Bubble" Championship against the Los Angeles Lakers, will no doubt come out ready to go back in Athens as they now move to just one game from the Final...