By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Rodrigue Beaubois, Shane Larkin, and Vasilije Micic had created an admirable backcourt for Anadolu Efes which won among other things back-to-back EuroLeague titles.
And for the first time since Darius Thompson replaced Micic, things seemed to be clicking again, as Efes got the important 89-82 road win over AS Monaco.
“We were struggling early on in the season, especially on the road, so this is a huge win for us and a stepping stone”, said Larkin after the final buzzer.
Larkin scored 25 and dished four assists, Beaubois added 21 and five assists, while Thompson recorded 16 plus five assists and three steals.
Erdem Can admit that this can be an important win for the future, his first on the road as a EuroLeague head coach: “We try to build our system and our culture. We must still work on some things on defense. I am very happy because we were all together and focused”.
On the other side, Jordan Loyd tried his best with 19 points, Mike James after going scoreless in the first half scored 12 in the second half, while John Brown was everywhere with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Larkin called game
After a balanced first half with ended with Efes having a small lead (48-44), the guests jumped to a nine-point advantage (63-54) in the third period.
However, Monaco reacted and trimmed their lead to three at the end of the third (69-66).
Monaco kept the pressure (72-70), but Efes stayed in the driver’s seat and Larkin with a big three gave them an 83-76 lead entering the last three minutes that proved enough.
To be exact, Monaco got again within three points (85-82) and Larkin once more made a very hard shot as Efes’ time expired to keep the distance (87-82).
“We missed a bit of energy and I think that in the end, Larkin made the difference”, added Monaco coach Sasa Obradovic after the end of the game as his team missed the chance to extend their winning streak to six games.
Just for the record, Kemba Walker had two points in five minutes for the home team which dropped to a 5-3 record, while Efes improved to 4-4.
Photo credit: EuroLeague