Nunn Delivers Late as Panathinaikos Edge Olimpia Milan 80-75

By Taki Panos

Panathinaikos had to sweat for this one. The Greens beat Olimpia Milan 80-75 at Telekom Center Athens on Tuesday night, October 27, 2026, in Round 8 of the EuroLeague, and they needed Kendrick Nunn's late heroics to do it. The win moves Obradovic's side to 7-1 and alone at the top of the standings, while Milan dropped to 1-7 with a sixth straight loss, as Gazzetta, ERT and Eurohoops all reported.

On paper this was the league leader against a team near the bottom. On the floor it was a coin flip for 40 minutes. The quarter scores tell the story, per ERT and Kathimerini: 18-19 after one, 40-37 at the half, 60-61 after three and 80-75 at the final buzzer. It was also the second home game in a row where the Greens struggled, after the tough 85-79 win over Baskonia in their previous home game.

Nunn was the difference. He came off the bench and finished with 20 points and 6 assists, going 9 of 11 from the free-throw line, according to the box scores published by Gazzetta and Olimpia Milan's official site. Mathias Lessort added a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, per Eurohoops and ERT, and Juancho Hernangomez chipped in 11 points, including both of his three-point attempts.

The start was slow again. Milan scored the first points and leaned on Moses Wright inside, and the Italians led 19-18 after the first quarter, as Gazzetta and ERT reported. Then the Panathinaikos defense woke up. A strong second quarter, with Hernangomez bringing energy off the bench and Nunn heating up, pushed the lead to 39-27 at the 17th minute, the first 12-point lead of the night, per ERT and Gazzetta.

It did not last. Milan closed the half on a 10-1 run, capped by a Devon Hall three, to cut it to 40-37 at the break, both ERT and Gazzetta reported. The Italians kept that energy after halftime, took a 46-42 lead in the 23rd minute on a Leandro Bolmaro three, and kept grabbing offensive rebounds. Nunn's and-one put the Greens back in front late in the third, but Milan answered again and led 61-60 going into the fourth.

The glass was the big problem all night. Milan finished with 16 offensive rebounds, a number ERT, Gazzetta and the Milan club's own stats all highlighted. Panathinaikos still won the overall rebounding battle 38-35, but too many of Milan's misses turned into second chances. The Greens made up for it at the line, going 27 of 36 on free throws against 13 of 18 for the visitors, per the official stats.

The fourth quarter was pure drama. Nigel Hayes-Davis and Nunn helped build a 68-64 lead in the 33rd minute, but Thompson and Bolmaro hit from deep and a 5-0 run gave Milan a 69-68 edge, per Gazzetta and ERT. Obradovic went to a bigger lineup, Lessort earned points at the line, and Sylvain Francisco tied it at 71-71. Milan then edged back in front at 74-73 with the clock running down.

Here is where it turned. After two straight missed threes from Francisco, Lessort grabbed the offensive rebound and scored for a 75-74 lead with 51.6 seconds left, according to ERT and Gazzetta. Milan came up empty on the next trip. Nunn then took the ball, beat his man one on one and finished a layup for 77-74 with 6.7 seconds to go, per ERT, Gazzetta and Eurohoops. Free throws did the rest, and Garrison Mathews missed a final three that could have tied it.

There was good news before tip-off too. Captain Kostas Sloukas made his first EuroLeague appearance of the season, his first game in the competition since last April's play-in win over Monaco, after a torn meniscus kept him out of the playoffs and the first seven rounds, per Gazzetta and Novasports. He played about 18 minutes and scored 3 points.

Not everyone had a good night, though. Francisco scored 6 points on 1-of-9 shooting with 4 turnovers, Hayes-Davis had 7 and Brancou Badio just 1, according to ERT and the Gazzetta box score. For Milan, Hall led the way with 15 points, while Cole, Bolmaro, Thompson and Devin Booker added 10 each, Eurohoops reported. Milan showed nothing like a 1-7 team, and Gazzetta made the same point.

Obradovic was honest afterward. "I trust the team I had here tonight, and also those who were missing," he told the press conference, as reported by Newspao and Filathlos (our translation from Greek). He also warned that more nights like this are coming: "We will have many games like this, because this is the EuroLeague. Everyone fights until the end," per the same outlets. He congratulated Milan on a very good game and thanked the fans.

My take: wins like this one count the same in the standings, and a 7-1 team that can steal a game on a bad night is a dangerous team. But two shaky home games in a row are a warning. Sixteen offensive rebounds allowed is too many against anyone, and Francisco's shooting slump needs to end soon. Sloukas being back should help settle things, and Nunn proved again he wants the ball when it matters.

Next up: no time to rest. Panathinaikos closes the double round at Anadolu Efes in Istanbul on Friday, October 30, at 7:30 PM Athens time, per Gazzetta and the EuroLeague schedule. Heading to the game or planning a trip to the capital? Check our Athens guide, and follow every result in our Greek Sports section. Seven down, plenty more to go. Come on, Greens!

Sources: Gazzetta, ERT, Kathimerini, Eurohoops, Olimpia Milano, Novasports, Newspao, Filathlos.

Image: Panathinaikos BC crest, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).