Hines, Olympiacos rally past Montepaschi for pivotal win

Reigning Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion Olympiacos Piraeus sent a message that echoed all around Top 16 Group F by edging Montepaschi Siena 67-68 on the road on Thursday. The two teams are now tied for second place in Group F, each with a 7-4 record. Kostas Papanikolaou and Kostas Sloukas paced the winners with 11 points apiece. Kyle Hines and Vassilis Spanoulis each scored 10 for Olympiacos. Hines added 11 rebounds for a double-double. Matt Janning and Kristjan Kangur led Montepaschi with 14 points apiece. David Moss added 11 for the hosts. Acie Law shined early to give Olympiacos a 4-12 margin. Montepaschi improved its defense and a triple by Janning gave the hosts their first lead, 18-17, after 10 minutes. Janning kept pushing Montepaschi and a layup by Benjamin Eze made it a double-digit game, 36-26. Pero Antic and Spanoulis brought Olympiacos as close as 37-36 at halftime. Outstanding defense allowed Montepaschi to grab a 53-44 edge late in the first quarter. Papanikolaou and Spanoulis struck from downtown in a 1-12 run that put Olympiacos back ahead, 54-56. A layup-plus-foul by Spanoulis seemed to seal the outcome, 61-68, but three-pointers by Janning and Moss brought Montepaschi within 67-68 already in the final minute. Montepaschi had a chance to win the game but did not get a shot up in the final seconds, allowing Olympiacos to celebrate a big win.