Has a 2-0 lead ever been so hard-won? Nigel Hayes Davis had an all-timer moment in a brilliant performance as Panathinaikos took full control of their series with Valencia in the Euroleague playoffs. Emmet Ryan on a second straight classic.
Let me tell you something you already know. That was awesome. The only thing standing between this Euroleague playoffs series between Valencia and Panathinaikos not being on course for being the greatest ever is the risk of a sweep.
After the dramatic and drawn out comeback of Valencia on Tuesday night, Thursday was a more balanced brawl. Both teams had their runs. Each of them had moments where it looked like they could take charge. Only one had Nigel Hayes Davis on the ball with the clock about to hit zero in overtime.
We start with the finish
You’ve seen the play. You’ve seen replays and you’ve probably seen alternate angles. Nigel Hayes Davis knew he was going to be the man getting the ball for Panathinaikos. Valencia, by and large, knew he was getting it. Yet even with well-structured D, there was nothing they could do about it when he decided to win the game.
In the post-game, Ergin Ataman was rightly asked if it was tough to decide who was getting the ball for that shot. Panathinaikos had, after all, plenty of guys who had made huge shots under pressure during the game. When your options include Kendrick Nunn, Juancho Hernangomez, and Cedi Osman, it’s possible for the decision to be challenging.
Yet Ataman was equally right when he said it was an easy call. Nigel Hayes Davis was signed for a reason. Panathinaikos, especially while Mathias Lessort was injured, needed something, someone, to turn their season around. Hayes Davis was signed to be it. He was signed for moments like this in the Euroleague Playoffs. He proved his worth in the moment.
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He also proved his worth before that
The shot is what everyone will remember from Game 2. Yet it didn’t come out of nowhere. Nigel Hayes Davis was downright brilliant in this game. His final line of 27 points on 8/17 shooting, to go with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal, somewhat distracts from his game.
This wasn’t a case of him being a volume shooter in the normal sense. Panathinaikos needed him to keep firing, essentially as a space threat at will. If Valencia didn’t excessively cover him, Hayes Davis was ready to make them pay at will.
The willingness of Hayes Davis, an extraordinarily calm figure to talk to, to be so aggressive in pushing it freed up those around him. In the Euroleague playoffs, efficiency is a team affair not an individual one. The American worried less about his to help raise the whole of Panathinaikos.
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Please give us more of this
This site is, by its nature, neutral. Yet every neutral will tell you honestly that few things would please them more than this being a full 5 game series in the Euroleague playoffs. We want three more chances for moments like the one delivered by Nigel Hayes Davis on Thursday night.
To do that, Valencia will have to somehow win twice on the road against Panathinaikos. That seems a bit too much to ask. Yet I’m confident if you catch a fan of the Greens in private, they’ll tell you this series isn’t over yet. Over two games, they have won by a combined 3 points. That said, I’m equally confident those same fans will tell you they expect PAO to progress.
The Euroleague playoffs have been a bit of a damp squib through three nights. Fenerbahce and Olympiacos are taking care of business. Real Madrid look poised to do the same. Yet these two games in Valencia have been special. If you offered me a 7, 9, 11, or even 13 game series between these two I’d take it. So too would psychiatrists in Valencia and Athens, they’d make a fortune.
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