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Olympiacos left Kaunas with a victory that felt like more than just a September game. The reigning European champions prevailed 93-91 against Zalgiris, at the end of an evening when every possession of the final minute carried more weight than expected for the second round of the EuroLeague. The score says it all: a two-point margin, a tense arena, and a Greek team that remains perfect after two games despite a tricky road trip.
Kaunas brought the EuroLeague back to the grind
In that respect, the Greeks once again showed they knew how to live with the noise.
The schedule wasted no time in offering a real test. Zalgiris arrived with the momentum of an opening win in Belgrade, while Olympiacos came with the status of defending champions and the unspoken obligation that accompanies it: to win even when the game gets messy. In that respect, the Greeks once again showed they knew how to live with the noise.
The game progressed in fits and starts. Zalgiris stayed in touch, powered by its home crowd and by enough shooting accuracy to prevent Olympiacos from settling into comfortable control. The Lithuanians narrowly lost the middle quarters, then reignited the game late with an offensive fourth quarter. But this kind of game demands more than a surge: you have to choose the right shots, secure rebounds, and avoid a careless foul or an overly ambitious pass. Kaunas did almost everything, but almost has never won a place in the standings.
Olympiacos, for its part, responded like a team accustomed to games that fray the nerves. The final 93-91 does not suggest dominance, but rather a team capable of surviving the pressure from its opponents without losing the thread.
Fournier made his mark as the game tightened
The name that stands out from the evening is Evan Fournier. Greek reports credit him with 19 points and, above all, major shots in the final period. It is not merely a matter of the statistical total. In a close game, a player’s importance is often measured by the exact moments when his baskets fall.
When Zalgiris tied things up and then threatened to swing the game, Fournier gave Olympiacos what great teams seek in those moments: a clear, quick, confident solution. Two long-range shots in crunch time were enough to change the temperature of the arena. Kaunas did not disappear, but the champions found their breath again at a moment when the game could have become a complete trap.
This ability to rely on an outside creator at the end of a possession already offers a useful indication of Olympiacos’ season. The Greeks do not need to be perfect to remain dangerous. They can move through a messy stretch, absorb the opponents’ comeback, then punish them on two well-executed possessions. It is cold, sometimes cruel, but that is precisely what distinguishes the teams still aiming for the spring.
Zalgiris loses, but does not come away diminished
For Zalgiris, the frustration is obvious. Losing by two points at home to the defending champions always leaves a list of details to replay in your head. A free throw, a defensive rotation, a play coming out of a timeout: the game offers enough material to make for a short night.
But it would be unfair to reduce the evening to a missed opportunity. Zalgiris showed that it could maintain a high level of intensity against one of the continent’s benchmarks. In a long EuroLeague season, where road trips and double weeks eventually grind down rosters, this kind of defeat can also serve as a reference point. The standings offer no consolation, but the performance matters when it confirms that the team can compete.
Olympiacos leaves at 2-0 with a prestigious road win. Zalgiris falls to 1-1, without losing the thread of its early season. The next question will be simple: can the Greeks turn these hard-fought finishes into real momentum, and will Kaunas manage to turn its near-wins into results? The EuroLeague has barely begun, and it has already found its tone: tight, loud, and not particularly charitable.