The Turkish team edged out the reigning champs with a strong finish in another epic battle
Efes beats Panathinaikos, 85-82, to force Game 5 in Athens
Report partita
3 Minuto di lettura
Anadolu Efes Istanbul made sure that its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague playoff series against Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens will go down to the wire after beating the competition’s reigning champion 85-82 in Game 4 to force a do-or-die Game 5 in the Greek capital next Tuesday night.
Elijah Bryant paced Efes on 19 points, while Rolands Smits turned out to be a trump card as he came off the bench to add 15. Ercan Osmani was also instrumental with 14 points while Shane Larkin racked up 9 points and as many assists for the home team.
At the other end, former Efes prodigy Cedi Osman led Panathinaikos with a joint career-high 22 points and Juancho Hernangomez netted 15. Kostas Sloukas scored 14 points while Kendrick Nunn was limited to 12 points after shooting 3 of 12 from the floor.
Game Videos
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Follow the Efes-Panathinaikos Game 4 post-game press conference
- 02:05
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Shane Larkin: 'Big game from everybody'
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul-Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens | Playoffs Game 4 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:17
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Elijah Bryant with a big three! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
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Nunn with a deep three! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:13
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Yurtseven with a sublime dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:08
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Juancho rocks the rim! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:14
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Yurtseven on the alley oop! Motorola Magic Moment
- 01:22
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Kendrick Nunn: 'I'm just glad it's not my tooth!'
- 02:06
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Konstantinos Mitoglou: 'We expect a tougher game in the next game'
- 00:28
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A monster dunk from Oturu! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul-Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens | Playoffs Game 3 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:25
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Crucial block by Juancho! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:28
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A fine dunk from Oturu! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:11
![https://media-cdn.cortextech.io/d64e1f28-6b0c-45e3-84b6-107de8c9df7d.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A78%3A114]()
Cedi Osman steals and dunks! Motorola Magic Moment
- 02:40
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Masterpiece on the Mediterranean
- 01:34
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Shane Larkin: 'We just had to stay poised'
- 01:01
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Vincent Poirier: 'We finished until the end'
![https://media-cdn.cortextech.io/e17354f8-b7ce-452d-9a15-d80d4de50cf7.jpg]()
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens-Anadolu Efes Istanbul | PO Game 2 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:32
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Larkin taking the lead for good! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 00:12
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Kostas Sloukas with a crazy buzzer-beater! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:09
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Oturu with a mighty dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:21
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Oturu with the alley-oop! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:12
![https://media-cdn.cortextech.io/ce0b6b0d-6c6e-40c5-87f9-7b4a211dfd69.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A166%3A31]()
Jerian Grant shows big hustle! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:12
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Poirier with the put-back slam! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:08
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Poirier with a fierce small-dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:57
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Juancho Hernangomez: 'We have a lot of talent, everybody can step up'
- 00:44
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Jerian Grant: 'That's what championship teams do'
![https://media-cdn.cortextech.io/d9020bd2-42d4-4eaf-89e5-aaea0842cf2e.jpg]()
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens-Anadolu Efes Istanbul | PO Game-1 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:24
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2025/04/22/n96YhWsSFpKfGjkKhsZuuCektsIoRy7I-1745354833470.jpg]()
Yurtseven at it again! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 00:11
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Grant seals the win! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:11
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Juancho flies to the rim! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:16
![https://media-cdn.cortextech.io/bbf9f2a0-f2f9-4ed7-942c-5e4713479b38.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A134%3A34]()
Larkin and Dozier conjure some magic! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/b34c15d6-1cd9-4a42-8f8b-d58c18a37979.jpg?crop=1238%3A697%3Anowe%3A56%3A57]()
Oturu with a strong dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:13
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Poirier rips the rim! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:09
![https://media-cdn.cortextech.io/156a71c3-c1c5-4945-b424-73a283cc80fa.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A29%3A41]()
Yurtseven on the alley-oop! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/6Z4LRqBLipY/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Kendrick NUNN Got MIC’D UP and SCORED BIG | AS Monaco - Panathinaikos
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The 7th Star - Trailer
- 00:52
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Kendrick Nunn: 'The one I'm most proud of is the 10 assists'
![https://media-cdn.cortextech.io/d2db2da2-5747-4a2c-85d5-6c3fce493ffc.jpg]()
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens-Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade | RS Round 34 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:24
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2025/04/11/MXcx4LkFEnOKhPmsO0LXp0aXi26avpvx-1744410398344.jpg]()
Poirier with a big dunk! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 02:30
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2025/04/11/3D1fS9AhhfucshuEtg1t2CcfNC6p4lyR-1744402127807.jpg]()
Shane Larkin: 'We've had to win every single game to get here'
![https://media-cdn.cortextech.io/ba942191-98e0-4bac-a768-97dba111b91c.jpg]()
Anadolu Efes Istanbul-Zalgiris Kaunas | RS Round 34 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:16
![https://media-cdn.cortextech.io/be488eb7-2d92-4c1f-b820-64c286bde8d5.jpg?crop=1272%3A716%3Anowe%3A39%3A38]()
Nwora with a massive dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
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EuroLeague 25 Moments: When Panathinaikos took Virtus’s crown in 2002
- 00:52
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2025/04/05/i0HFkioIF819oZ650F0w0quDBsDi2rno-1743811398064.jpg]()
Vincent Poirier: 'Really proud of the team and what we've accomplished so far'
![https://media-cdn.cortextech.io/6183de28-f75a-4657-9218-b3ef7593c469.jpg]()
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade-Anadolu Efes Istanbul | RS Round 33 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:12
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A sublime alley oop from Poirier! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:09
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A ferocious dunk from Thompson! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:41
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Kendrick Nunn: 'We came here with one job: to win'
It was yet another enthralling battle between the two teams and Efes came out on top to level the series at 2-2 after a huge team effort, with the hosts overcoming a slow start as Panathinaikos raced into a 4-9 lead. The hosts hit back with a 9-0 run with Erkan Ylimaz also featuring as an early factor on offense, netting 5 of his team’s opening 10 points.
With Nunn totally subdued much like in the opening two games, Osman pulled all the strings for the visitors and having trailed 21-18 at the end of the first quarter, Panathinaikos played catch-up throughout a rugged first half. Efes thrived on ironclad defense and was able to take a 38-33 advantage into the locker room at halftime thanks to a balanced workload at both ends of the court. In contrast, a flat-looking Nunn was held to a mere three points in the opening two quarters and all of them came from the foul line.
Efes engineered a 45-35 lead early in the third but the Greens hit straight back with a 0-10 run which tied the score, setting the stage for a pulsating contest until the very end. Hernangomez hit some big shots from the right corner for Panathinaikos but Bryant was just as lethal at the other end, while Larkin and Sloukas locked horns in dishing out assists like confetti for their respective units.
Efes headed into the fourth 60-59 up on the back of a pair of Bryant’s layups and the home team kept nosing ahead down the stretch, with Bryant netting a three off the dribble before Nunn returned the favor to slash the deficit to 77-76 in the home straight.
Smits then came up with a pair of big plays and PJ Dozier sank two free throws after Efes grabbed an offensive board, also resulting in a technical foul for Osman and an angry outburst from Panathinaikos coach Ergin Ataman, who walked back to the locker rooms after being taunted by fervent home fans.
The sequence left Efes 83-76 ahead in the final minute and gave Panathinaikos with a mountain to climb, hence a Sloukas three-pointer from the halfway line at the buzzer was immaterial and amounted to scant consolation for the champs.
