Bayern just miss coming back from 15 down in fourth.
Cordinier career night helps Efes off-set Larkin injury, snap losing skid
Rungtynių ataskaitos
3 Minutė skaityti
Regular Season
Round 11 of 38
Regular Season
Anadolu Efes IstanbulEFS
7472
FC Bayern MunichBAY
Overview
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It did not look pretty, but Anadolu Efes Istanbul managed to snap a three-game losing streak despite star leader Shane Larkin going down in the early stages. A major reason for that was a career night by Isaia Cordinier.
After Larkin suffered an apparent groin injury late in the first quarter, it was the French guard who not only stepped up but also bounced back with 26 points in Efes’ 74-72 win over FC Bayern Munich.
“We needed that one,” said Cordinier, referring to Efes having lost the previous three games and five of the last six, before now improving to 4-7.
“The atmosphere was great to help us get going. We stayed together down the stretch, that is what was most important. In the last games, when the other team had runs, we kind of shut off, but today we regrouped and stayed together and finally got the win that we needed.”
Cordinier registered a new personal scoring record with his 26-point outburst. He also contributed 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals for a PIR of 29. And all that came after he had combined for 4 points and a -3 PIR over the last two games.
“I tried to stay ready. We have so much talent on this team. Anybody can have a night like that,” Cordinier said. “Unfortunately with Shane out, I wanted to be a little more aggressive offensively and just be me. I just try to be me, take what the game is giving me and try to make winning plays.”
Efes head coach Igor Kokoskov said he and his coaching staff were prepared for a lot of things, but not losing Larkin.
“It’s no secret that Shane Larkin is the face of the franchise. He’s our best player and main offensive weapon. We were not prepared for losing Shane Larkin. But the game is so fast, and our mantra for this whole season is ‘Next man up’,” Kokoskov said.
“When your best player leaves the game, a lot of guys have to step up. Somebody has to take more responsibility and that was Cordinier tonight.”
Kokoskov was happy his team finally broke through to win a game - though there were plenty of chances to decide it earlier.
“The effort was there. We played hard. We have to play smarter. We have way too many turnovers. On two occasions we were up by 15. With a couple of smart decisions, we should be up 20 and just close the game way earlier to not give them a chance to come back,” the coach said.
Efes reeled off a 16-0 run to lead 16-5, but soon the game was tied 19-19 and Bayern was up 26-27. The home side recaptured control and built a 48-34 cushion early in the third quarter. After Bayern fought back to make it 52-46, Efes once again thought it had grasped control with a 62-47 advantage early in the final quarter. But Bayern raced back with three three-pointers and eight points from Oscar da Silva, closing the gap to 68-64. A triple and later free throw from Stefan Jovic had Bayern within 74-72 inside the final minute.
But in the final possession, Spencer Dinwiddie missed a three-pointer, Vladimir Lucic’s put-back attempt was just off and Efes escaped.
Bayern’s assistant coach TJ Parker, who was filling in for ill head coach Gordie Herbert, knows there were good and bad parts of the game.
“We fought in the fourth quarter. Not much to say about the beginning of the game. We were down 15 points and we came back. That is always a good sign,” said Parker, whose team was playing the first of seven consecutive road games in the EuroLeague.
Isiaha Mike’s 15 points and 11 from Dinwiddie were not enough as Bayern was swept in the double round to fall to 5-6.
The game was played at the Antalya Sports Hall in Antalya as part of Efes’ wider strategic initiative to expand the club’s reach beyond Istanbul.
“We are ready and focused for every game but I could tell it was something special - a change of environment, coming to Antalya, feeling the fuel coming from the fans and the energy from the crowd. That helped us a lot,” Kokoskov said.
