Anadolu Efes Istanbul rallied from a 7-point deficit in the final 2 minutes to edge Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 84-83 in Round 17 on Wednesday. Efes improved to 9-8 in the standings while Zvezda dropped to 7-10. Reigning EuroLeague MVP Vasilije Micic had Efes's final 10 points, including the game-sealing free throws with 0.9 seconds left.
Micic's late heroice lead Efes past Zvezda, 84-83

Tibor Pleiss paced the winners with 23 points on 5-of-5 shooting from downtown. Micic added 21, Rodrigue Beaubois scored 10 and Shane Larkin tallied 8 points and 9 assists for Efes. Nikola Kalinic led Zvezda with 20 points, Branko Lazic added 13 and Nate Wolters 12 for the visitors.
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James Anderson and Pleiss got Efes going with consecutive three-pointers and Beaubois added a driving layup for an 8-3 lead. Pleiss insisted from downtown and Larkin boosted the hosts' lead to 13-5. Wolters scored in penetration and Luka Mitrovic dunked to bring Zvezda closer, 13-9. Beaubois banked in a mid-range jumper and Anderson took over with a three-point play to keep the hosts in control, 18-9. Mitrovic hit a jump hook and Kalinic added an acrobatic basket, but Beaubois and Larkin gave Efes its first double-digit lead, 23-13. Aaron White stepped up with a layup-plus-foul and a triple. Anderson and Beaubois each struck from downtown for a 31-21 Efes lead after 10 minutes.
Lazic swished a three-pointer early in the second quarter and Ognjen Kuzmic scored down low, igniting a 0-9 run that Stefan Lazarevic capped with a tip-in to bring Zvezda within 31-30. Pleiss hit his third triple and Larkin erased Kalinic's layup with a floater for a 36-32 Efes lead. Nikola Ivanovic joined the three-point shootout and Wolters nailed a one-handed floater in the lane to complete Zvezda's comeback, 36-37. Pleiss insisted from beyond the arc but Lazic buried a jumper, Wolters hit another floater and Kalinic downed a three-pointer for a 39-44 Zvezda lead. Pleiss followed a layup with a dunk to bring Efes closer, 43-46, at halftime.
Kalinic and Hollins each struck from downtown for a 45-52 Zvezda lead after the break. After Pleiss buried a triple, Kalinic quickly answered with a jumper and Kuzmic added a tip-in to keep the visitors in control, 50-56. Micic hit a triple for his first points, but Kuzmic erased it with a layup-plus-foul and Lazic struck from beyond the arc, prompting Efes to call timeout at 53-62. Larkin stepped up with a driving layup and found Bryant Dunston for a driving layup. Kalinic, Micic and Ivanovic each hit a three-pointer, but Elijah Bryant and Dunston kept Efes close at 65-68 after 30 minutes.
Ivanovic matched Micic's three-point play with a bomb from beyond the arc early in the fourth quarter. Micic kept pushing the hosts with a driving basket and Bryant ignited the crowd with an alley-oop layup, but Lazarevic sank back-to-back triples to boost Zvezda's lead to 72-77. Kalinic bettered Bryant's driving layup with a huge three-pointer for a 74-80 Zvezda lead with less than 4 minutes to go. Efes did not give up, however, as Micic showed his MVP credentials; he singlehandedly brought his team within 80-81 with 39.9 seconds left. Kalinic buried a jumper with 15.7 seconds remaining, but Micic answered with a driving basket. Kalinic missed free throws and Micic drew a foul with 0.9 seconds left. He calmly made both attempts and Kalinic missed from beyond midcourt at the buzzer.