Anadolu Efes Istanbul held off AX Armani Exchange Milan 75-70 in Game 4 at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall on Thursday to take their best-of-five series 3-1.
Efes closes out Milan, 75-70, to secure return to Final Four
After Milan erased a double-digit deficit with a 0-14 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters to lead 62-66, Efes went on an 11-2 run to regain control and close the game – and series – out. Tibor Pleiss was magnificent with 25 points and just 1 missed shot for Efes, reigning EuroLeague MVP Vasilije Micic added 20 and Shane Larkin contributed 8 points and 7 assists. Luigi Datome scored 21 for Milan and Kyle Hines posted 10 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
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Pleiss made an instant impact with a pair of three-pointers sandwiched around a basket by Adrien Moerman for an 8-0 start. Milan used an early timeout and Hines got the visitors on the scoreboard with a dunk. However, Efes remained in charge as Micic scored twice to establish a double-digit lead and Pleiss added a jumper that made it 16-4. Datome and Shavon Shields scored to revive the visitors and a three by Giampaolo Ricci made 19-11 after 10 minutes.
Datome netted a three and a baseline jumper as Efes closed within 21-16 to silence the arena. Sergio Rodriguez and Kaleb Tarczewski teamed up to make it 23-20. Micic countered with a three-point play only to see Ben Bentil match him. Larkin scored his first points of the game from the line as the pace picked up at both ends, with points scored on seven straight possessions. When the run ended, Devon Hall and Datome threes, with a Hines dunk in between, saw Milan take its first lead, 34-35. The offensive nature of the game continued with the lead changing on each of the next eight possessions, the last of which was a Datome jumper that made it 42-43 at the break.
Pleiss put Efes back in front with an alley-oop courtesy of Larkin’s pass before threes by Micic, Elijah Bryant and Pleiss helped Efes take control, 56-48, midway through the third quarter. Datome’s jumper and Tarczewski’s basket inside trimmed the deficit to 5. James Anderson’s buried a deep three and Pleiss’s free throws extended the margin to 62-52. Milan came right back, holding Efes scoreless for the final 2 minutes of the quarter during which triples from Shields and Rodriguez made it 62-58.
Threes by Datome and Shields put Milan back on top. After Bryant Dunston missed twice from the line, Ricci made it 62-66, which prompted an Efes timeout. Larkin got to the line to end a 5-minute drought, during which Milan outscored Efes 0-14. Pleiss came alive at both ends for Efes and Micic drive for a layup that tied it at 68-68 with 3 minutes remaining. Free throws by Chris Singleton – his first shots of any kind on the night – with 1:57 to play gave Efes the lead. Singleton added another foul shot with 1:20 left, but Milan missed twice in the final minute with a chance to tie it and Larkin iced the game from the line.