In a battle between two Turkish powerhouses, Anadolu Efes Istanbul (6-6) achieved revenge against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (3-9) after last month's blowout loss at the Turkish Basketball Super League.
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
29
|
| Shane Larkin | |
| Points | 25 |
| Accuracy | 8-12 |
| Rebounds | 1 |
| Assists | 7 |
This time, Efes beat their opponents in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague 89-84 (20-18, 16-23, 20-26, 33-17).
De Colo gave his team a 12-point lead (72-60), but Shane Larkin and Vasilije Micic started heating up, nailing three deep bombs and bringing Efes within three (71-74). Another 3-pointer by Larkin cut Efes' deficit to a single point with 1:49 remaining (81-82).
A drive and a successful layup by Larkin gave Efes their first lead since the second period (85-84). The reigning champions got the stop on the other end, Micic converted two free throws, and their advantage increased to three (87-84). Tibor Pleiss added two more points to seal an impressive five-point comeback win for Efes.
Fenerbahce jumped out to a quick 12-4 lead after Marial Shayok's 3-pointer. Nando de Colo and Pierria Henry added two more long-range bombs (18-6), but Efes closed out the quarter on a 14-0 run to gain a two-point advantage (20-18).
Vasilije Micic gave Efes a three-point lead in the second period (36-33), but Fenerbahce finished the half with an 8-0 run to put the hosts up by five (41-36).
Sasha Djordjevic's squad started the third period well, gaining a 10-point advantage (46-36). Krunoslav Simon's 3-pointer tied the game at 51 but Fenerbahce responded with a 12-0 spurt to gain an 11-point lead going into the final period (67-56).
Shane Larkin was spectacular tonight, especially in the fourth quarter, where he scored 11 points. Larkin finished with 25 points (4/4 2PT, 4/8 3PT, 5/6 FT), 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers, and 29 PIR.
"It was a gutsy performance by our team," Larkin said after the game. "We were down by 12 points, but we stayed together and we kept fighting, we believed in each other. We kept making the right plays and eventually we were able to pull out the game. Tonight it was just my turn and I'm just happy that we got the win."
Marial Shayok had a career-high in the EuroLeague for Fenerbahce, leading them with 18 points (3/6 2PT, 4/4 3PT), 3 rebounds, 1 block, and 14 PIR.
"We have Shane Larkin," Efes coach Ergin Ataman said post-game. "He came back to play like a star. We made a lot of turnovers tonight, especially Micic. This victory is more than one victory for us because he showed, during the game also but especially in the fourth quarter, a big capacity and he's the key to open the Fenerbahce defense."
Efes: Shane Larkin 25 (7 AST), Tibor Pleiss 17, Vasilije Micic 14, Rodrigue Beaubois 7 (5 REB, 5 AST), Krunoslav Simon 7.
Fenerbahce: Marial Shayok 18, Nando de Colo 14 (5 REB, 5 AST), Jan Vesely 13, Pierria Henry 10 (5 REB, 4 AST), Marko Guduric 9.
Highlights
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