ALBA Berlin celebrated one of the club’s most memorable Turkish Airlines EuroLeague wins after a last-gasp dunk by forward Luke Sikma gave the German side a 95-93 home win over reigning champion Anadolu Efes Istanbul, leaving Efes's post-season hopes hanging by a thread. It was an incredible night at the Mercedes Benz Arena as ALBA threw away a 19-point lead early in the third quarter and then wiped out a 7-point deficit late in the fourth. ALBA improved to 9-21 and sent Efes to 14-16.
ALBA stuns Efes, 95-93, hurts champs' playoff hopes
Jaleen Smith paced the home side with a career-high 25 points and 4 assists. Smith was 7-of-10 from three-point range and sank all of his 4 free throws, while Maodo Lo followed with 16 points – 14 of them in the first half. Ben Lammers chipped in with 10 points for ALBA and late hero Sikma added 9 to go with 8 assists. At the other end, Vasilije Micic shined with a game-high 30 points in his most impressive performance of the season, Will Clyburn netted 19 and Ante Zizic scored 13 for Efes. Elijah Bryant and Shane Larkin chipped in with 10 points each for the visitors, who ultimately paid the price for soft defense.
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A small-ball starting five including Micic, Larkin and Bryant produced a mixed bag for Efes, as the visitors fired on all cylinders on offense early on but left gaps on defense, allowing ALBA to turn a 13-16 deficit into a 20-16 lead late in the first quarter. Micic was unstoppable for Efes as he netted 15 points in the opening two quarters, but Clyburn and Larkin struggled while Lo and Smith ran the show for ALBA. Having maintained their lead throughout the first half, the hosts went up by 9 on the buzzer as Smith nailed a long triple and that was a sign of what was coming after the break.
Galvanized by the first-half display, ALBA raced away to 61-42 midway through the third quarter and very few among a sizeable contingent of Efes fans would have believed their team was capable of roaring back. However, that’s exactly what Efes did, showing the grim determination and the heart of a champion, slashing the deficit to 68-67 at the end of the third quarter. The momentum had shifted and it was hardly surprising that Efes turned the match on its head in the fourth quarter, driven by Micic and the rejuvenated Clyburn.
The visitors looked the only likely winners when they took a 75-82 lead with 4:32 minutes remaining, but the hosts – who looked out for the count – picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and got back into the contest. Having drawn level at 84-84, the ALBA traded punches with Efes and emerged a worthy winner when Sikma delivered the killer blow right at the death, slamming Lo’s wayward layup through the hoop.