By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Shavon Shields went off in Game 5 against Bayern Munich with career highs of 34 points and a 41 performance index rating, marking the best playoffs performance in more than 15 years.
Per EuroLeague Basketball:
The best single-game playoffs performance in more than 15 years has earned AX Armani Exchange Milan forward Shavon Shields the first MVP honor of his three-season Turkish Airlines EuroLeague career. With career highs of 34 points and a 41 performance index rating, Shields carried Milan to a nail-biting 92-89 home win over FC Bayern Munich in their best-of-five series finale on Tuesday to clinch the club’s first Final Four appearance since 1992. His PIR is the best following the very first night of the modern playoffs format, back in 2005, and his point total is tied for the highest in a playoffs victory over that span. Shields was followed by another stellar clutch performer as Chris Singleton led Anadolu Efes Istanbul across the finish line to the Final Four in an 88-83 home win over Real Madrid that went down to the final minute. Making the 200th appearance of his EuroLeague career, Singleton tied his personal best of 26 points on the way to a career-high PIR of 38. In 37:25 minutes on the floor, he made 5 of 7 two-pointers, all 3 of his three-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws. The next three top performances of Tuesday all came in that same Milan win over Bayern. Visiting big man Jalen Reynolds piled up a PIR of 24 based on his 19 points and 10 rebounds. His teammate JaJuan Johnson came in with a 22 PIR on 14 points and 9 rebounds. And Milan center Kyle Hines also had a 22 PIR thanks to his 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
Individual highs: Pau Gasol, Barcelona, 4 blocks
Shields led all scorers in the final playoffs week with his 34 points. Will Clyburn of CSKA Moscow finished as the top playoffs scorer with 21.0 points per game. Reynolds of Bayern topped all rebounders in Game 5 with 10, while Usman Garuba of Real finished with the highest playoffs average, 7.2 per game. Kevin Pangos of Zenit St Petersburg dished 10 assists in his team’s Game 5 loss to FC Barcelona and finished with a playoffs-high 7.2 per game. Walter Tavares of Madrid, Will Thomas of Zenit and Pau Gasol of Barcelona each had 3 steals in Game 4. Daniel Hackett of CSKA led the playoffs with 1.7 per game. And Gasol’s 4 blocks not only matched the single-game high in modern playoffs history since 2005, but tied him with CSKA teammates Will Clyburn and Michael Eric for the playoffs best average of 1.0 per game. Reynolds had the only double-double performance in Game 5 with his 19 points and 10 rebounds.