By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
The EuroLeague game between Olympiacos Piraeus and Anadolu Efes in Greece was possibly the most expected match of Round 6 for a quite specific reason: It would mark competition’s marquee star Shane Larkin’s season debut.
After just few practices with the team, Larkin came to Piraeus, saw and conquered. In his highly anticipated 2020-21 premiere, the American guard scored 11 out of his 15 points in the last seven minutes of the game as Efes grabbed a much needed 84 – 79 away win over Olympiacos to improve to 2-3.
Vasilije Micic, Larkin’s usual partner in crime, dropped a game-high 20 points and dished out seven assists, thriving with his backcourt comrade on board. He also made 2-2 free throws for the 77 – 82 with 13 seconds to put Efes at a two-possession distance while the Reds were making a comeback attempt from down 12 halfway through the fourth period.
Hassan Martin scored a team-high 11 points for Olympiacos, including the basket that made it 75 – 78 with 1:11 to play. The hosts didn’t approach any closer since Larkin answered with a tough layup and when Sloukas cut the deficit down to three again, Micic and Anderson preserved their team’s advantage.
Olympiacos was trailing 63 – 75 with 4:47 to play but went close 70 – 75 and 73 – 77 with two minutes left after a triple by Vassilis Spanoulis. They momentarily held the lead early in the second half until Efes made a 5 – 17 run with the score 47 – 44 to once again sit on the driver’s seat, this time for good.
Rodrigue Beaubois added 15 points for Efes and Krunoslav Simon 11 points. Bryant Dunston and Chris Singleton dropped eight and seven points respectivelly and had an immense contribution to their team’s defense to neutralize Oly’s scoring efforts.
Kostas Sloukas added 10 points and seven assists for Olympiacos while Shaq McKissic scored 10. Their team is 3-3 after suffering its second straight loss.