By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Monaco was trailing for most of the first three periods, but in the end got an easy 81-69 win without pressure in the closing minutes.
Giorgos Papagiannis (photo) with 15 points and seven rebounds stole the show, Jordan Loyd added 14 points and four assists, while Mike James had 12 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Newcomer Furkan Korkmaz scored two points in his first EuroLeague game with the team, while Nick Calathes is still on the injury list.
On the other side, Vincent Poirier scored 14 points and Ercan Osmani had 11 but couldn’t save the day with Efes still missing Shane Larkin.
Monaco got a 5-3 record in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings after this win and Efes dropped to 4-4.
Fourth quarter domination
The first half was close with Efes leading by one point (23-22) after 10 minutes of action and by five (41-36) at halftime. The two teams walked side by side and five points was the biggest lead while Roland Smits with 10 points made a difference for Efes.
However, in the third quarter, thanks to a 13-2 run by the hosts, things changed and Efes led for the first time by 10 points (58-48) with Ercan Osmani scoring crucial points.
The Turkish side entered the least period leading by seven (59-52), however that was not the end of it.
The fourth quarter belonged to Monaco, which first tied the score at 59 and with a partial score 29-10 left no chance for Efes on the way to the final 81-69.
Photo credit: EuroLeague