2009-05-29 00:50:03 -

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Josh Childress scored 23 points to help Olympiakos beat Panathinaikos 74-70 and avoid being swept in the finals of the Greek league on Thursday.
Euroleague champion Panathinaikos, favored to win its 11th league championship in 12 seasons, leads the best-of-five finals 2-1 and can close out the series on Monday at Athens Olympic Arena.
Rowdy fan behavior in the first game meant the folding stands at Olympiakos' stadium, which can seat about 1,700 fans, were absent for security reasons. Even then, there were several rows of empty seats as Olympiakos fans seemed to lose confidence in their team following their 91-64 drubbing at Panathinaikos' arena last Monday.
Things looked even bleaker for the hosts when, 2:45 into the game, point guard Theodoros Papaloukas crumpled in pain after landing on a teammate's foot and limped off the court.
Olympiakos took more than four minutes to score its first basket, but Panathinaikos was equally inept at the start. The defending champion's shots didn't fall in and Olympiakos used a late 12-3 run to take a 22-10 lead after the first quarter.
Panathinaikos went on a 15-2 tear to start the second quarter and regain the lead at 25-24 and keep the game close to the end.
Childress, the former Atlanta Hawks swingman who bolted the NBA last summer to become the highest-paid player in Europe, made the decisive play of the game when he grabbed an offensive rebound with 42 seconds to go and Olympiakos up 67-66. Forward Giorgos Printezis scored on the ensuing possession and Olympiakos held on.

Sarunas Jasikevicius led Panathinaikos with 17 points.
On Thursday, Panathinaikos was fined ¤16,000 ($22,300) and forced to play two home games in front of empty rows because of troubles in its own home game last Monday, when a flare thrown at Olympiakos' bench set fire to a duffel bag, and forward Nikola Vujcic was hit on the shoulder by a cell phone.
Panathinaikos' fans will be present at Monday's game, however, because five days must elapse before the decision takes effect. But if Olympiakos manages to win on Monday and play the deciding game at home next Wednesday, it will be before empty stands, since it was sentenced this week to its own two-match fan ban plus ¤50,000 ($70,000) in fines.