Greens overcome Khimki, as Reds lose at Efes

Panathinaikos scored an absolutely necessary home win over Khimki on Friday, after Olympiakos suffered its fourth consecutive loss in the Euroleague on Thursday, this time at Anadolu Efes.

An amazing first half sufficed for Panathinaikos to beat Khimki 94-85 in Athens and record its 10th win in 23 matches, staying in contention for a play-off spot.

The Greens scored 65 points in the first half, the biggest ever tally in their Euroleague history for the first 20 minutes of a game. DeShaun Thomas scored 22 of those points, for a total of 25 by the end of the game.

Khimki tried to test the Greek champion, slashing the distance from 17 points (42-25) to just four (67-63), and the host responded keeping a safe distance that also means that if the two sides end up level on points Panathinaikos will have the upper hand.

After Thomas, there were 17 points by...