By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
CSKA Moscow forward Will Clyburn was named MVP of the week for Game 3 and 4 of the EuroLeague playoffs.
Clyburn didn’t participate in Game 4 for the reason he actually won MVP: Leading CSKA to the Final Four by scoring a career-high 34 points in the Game 3 win over Fenerbahce Beko. The Russian side swept the series and clinched a ticket to Cologne where it will defend its 2019 title.
Per EuroLeague Basketball:
After missing almost the whole 2019-20 season with a torn ACL, CSKA Moscow’s Will Clyburn was back with a vengeance this season and he sealed that with a career performance that allowed his team to go to its ninth straight Final Four and earn him the MVP of the Week honor for Games 3 and 4 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs. Clyburn shined in Game 3 with a PIR 38 at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and led CSKA to a series sweep that punched its ticket to be in Cologne in late May to play for the title. It was a night to remember for Clyburn, who set new personal bests in PIR, points (34), three-pointers made (5) and free throws made (11). He also added 7 rebounds and 1 steal to a great all-around performance in 31 minutes coming off the bench. It was the highest PIR for the winner of a playoff game in 15 years. Following Clyburn among the week’s best inidividual performance was Vladimir Lucic, whose PIR 35 in Game 3 against AX Armani Exchange Milan allowed FC Bayern Munich to get the first playoff win ever for a German team. Vladimir Micic of Anadolu Efes Istanbul shined with a PIR of 34 and 29 points in Game 3, but it wasn’t enough to save his team from an 80-76 defeat at the hands of host Real Madrid. Iffe Lundberg also had a great night in Game 3 with CSKA at Fenerbahce as he posted a PIR of 32, his personal high since joining the team in midseason. And Shane Larkin posted a PIR of 31 in Game 4 on Thursday despite Efes team losing again at Real, 82-76.
Individual highs: Usman Garuba, 12 rebounds
Clyburn of CSKA led all Game 3 and 4 scorers with his 34 points on Wednesday against Fenerbahce. He is now the top scorer in the playoffs with 21.0 points per game. Real teenager Usman Garuba led all rebounders this week with his 12 boards pulled in his team’s Game 4 victory over Efes. He also leads the playoffs with 7.3 boards per game. Zan Sisko of FC Bayern Munich had 8 assists in Game 3 against Milan and was matched in Game 4 by Larkin, Sergio Llull of Real and Kevin Pangos of Zenit St Petersburg, who is also the playoffs leader with 6.5 assists per game. Lundberg of CSKA in Game 3 and Bryant Dunston of Efes in Game 4 each had a week-high total of 4 steals. Daniel Hackett of CSKA is the playoffs steals leader at 1.7 per game. Alex Poythress of Zenit and Brandon Davies of FC Barcelona had 2 blocks each in the same Game 3, as did Dunston in Game 4 for Efes, the most this week. Clyburn and Michael Eric of CSKA lead the blocks board in the playoffs, averaging 1.0 each. The sole double-double of the week belonged to Real’s Garuba, who had 24 points to go with his 12 rebounds.