By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Anadolu Efes backcourt duo of Shane Larkin and Vasilije Micic partnered up and pushed their squad to a 106-105 home win after overtime against Alba Berlin in Round 2 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Both teams now hold a 1-1 record.
Efes kicked off the overtime with five straight points and led by Larkin’s seven points stayed ahead until the end for the narrow win.
Larkin returned from injury and nailed game-high 26 points (5-9 triples) while adding five assists and five rebounds for a total of 31 PIR.
Vasilije Micic was right behind with 23 points (4-6 triples) and EuroLeague career-highs of 13 assists and 32 PIR.
Bryant Dunston added 18 points on perfect 7-7 shooting while for Alba, Rokas Giedraitis scored 21 points in addition to Luke Sikma’s 15 and Tyler Cavanaugh’s 14 points. Sikma and Cavanaugh also grabbed eight boards each. Payton Siva also returned to action and had 10 points in almost 20 minutes on the court, but with just 1/8 FG.
Ataman: ALBA played a perfect game
“Congratulations to ALBA, on the road they scored 14 three-point shots on 45%, they played an excellent game”, said coach Ergin Ataman after the game. “Also on offense, especially in the second half with Micic and Larkin together, we played our game, with many assists. Micic 13 assists. But we did not have any contribution from our forwards. Anderson played 37 minutes, scored 2 points; Tolga Gecim the same. It is a problem for us, but the main problem for us was our defense. But they scored incredibly, they really played an excellent game. You can see that the start of this season is very tough. Every game is difficult in the Euroleague. Tonight, ALBA played a perfect game, and it is important that we found a way to win.”
Both squads were off to a great start as they combined for 8-12 from deep (3-5, 5-7) with Efes having a slight 27-25 lead after the first quarter thanks to Larkin who drained ten points in six minutes. Giedraitis answered on the other side with 12 points but the Turkish squad was still ahead at halftime (43-40).
The teams kept the same rhythm after the break as well, keeping shooting percentages above 50% and neither side could gain more than six points of advantage. Alba was in front 72-69 at the end of the third and had an 86-80 lead midway through the fourth quarter but Efes bounced back with seven straight points. The game went down to the wire and eventually into overtime as neither team scored in the final minute.
Game Highlights
Photo Credit: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague