By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Mirotic was named Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Quarterfinals Game 3 MVP, Euroleague Basketball announced Thursday.
Mirotic, 31, dropped 25 points behind 8/11 field goals as FC Barcelona beat FC Bayern Munich on the road and jumped to a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. The additional contribution of six rebounds and three assists build up the 31 PIR, the highest among all players in Game 3 action Tuesday and Wednesday.
Other MVP distinctions for the Barca star include this season’s Regular Season Round 9 and Regular Season Round 14. Anadolu Efes pair, Vasilije Micic and Shane Larkin had logged three MVP efforts through the Regular Season but have not yet added to their tally during the Playoffs.
Per the press release: “A stunning individual performance in a bounce-back road win allowed Nikola Mirotic of FC Barcelona to become the MVP for Game 3 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs.
Mirotic led Barca to a 66-75 victory on the court of FC Bayern Munich, finishing the game with 25 points on 6-for-7 two-point, 2-for-4 three-point and 7-for-7 free-throw shooting. He added 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 fouls drawn for a performance index rating of 31. Both his scoring and PIR were the highest among all quarterfinalists in Game 3, not to mention his personal highs in 20 playoff games to date. Mirotic earned his third MVP of the Round honor this season and the ninth of his career.
In the same game, Augustine Rubit led Bayern with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 8 fouls drawn for a PIR of 27, the second-best of all Game 3s. Guerschon Yabusele of Real Madrid came next with a PIR of 26 based on his 16 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists in a 76-87 road victory against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv that made Real the first team to punch its ticket to the Final Four. Shane Larkin of Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos Piraeus, each with a PIR of 24, complete the top individual performances in Playoffs Game 3 while putting their teams a victory away from Final Four qualification. Larkin had 16 points and 5 assists as Efes turned back visiting AX Armani Exchange Milan, 77-65. Vezenkov powered Olympiacos past host AS Monaco, 83-87, with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals.”
Confidently ran the baseline, Olympiacos center Moustapha Fall dunked and ranked first in the Top 10 Plays of Playoffs Game 3.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net