The Turkish side recorded its first home win of the season
Efes overcomes early deficit to down Olympiacos, 91-89
Rungtynių ataskaitos
3 Minutė skaityti
Regular Season
Round 4 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul overturned a 15-point deficit to down Olympiacos Piraeus, 91-89, despite only leading for two minutes all night. Both teams now have a 2-2 record.
Olympiacos raced into an early double-digit lead through 10 first-quarter points from Sasha Vezenkov, but Efes fought back as Shane Larkin scored 14 in the second quarter and it was 41-44 at the break. Evan Fournier took over the third quarter with 13 points, but Efes kept fighting and controlled the final stages to prevail. Larkin led the way with 24 points, while Darius Thompson added 13 and Elijah Bryant scored all his 11 points in the second half. Fournier paced Olympiacos with 20 points, Shaquielle McKissic scored 17 and Vezenkov added 16.
Fournier netted five points in the first two minutes, then Moustapha Fall’s three-point play and Vezenkov’s floater gave Olympiacos a 3-10 lead. Vezenkov scored in transition to complete a 0-7 run, which was ended by Vincent Poirier at the rim. Tyler Dorsey’s jumper and two more buckets for Fall established a double-digit lead, 5-18, before Rolands Smits’ three-point play briefly boosted Efes. Vezenkov stayed hot with another inside score before Filip Petrusev’s lay-up-and-one was answered by a Smits triple, making it 11-23 after 10 minutes.
Larkin stepped up with 10 points early in the second quarter, including two triples, but Dorsey’s deep strike and four points from McKissic restored a double-digit lead, 21-32. The inspired Larkin scored again and Erkan Yilmaz added five straight points as Efes fought back, but Alec Peters from mid-range and Dorsey from deep reasserted the Reds. Thompson scored five fast points to make it 35-38, and a big dunk from Moses Wright was answered by Thompson’s triple before Dorsey beat the buzzer with a long two for a 41-44 halftime score.
Thompson and Ercan Osmani brought Efes within one point early in the third, before Fournier and Vincent Poirier exchanged inside scores as it stayed close. Fall’s three-point play was followed by a pair of triples apiece for Fournier, Larkin and Bryant, tying it up at 59-59. Vezenkov and McKissic both hit triples, then Rodrigue Beaubois’s jumper was answered by Fournier’s triple at the end of third-quarter buzzer, making it 65-70.
Wright started the fourth quarter with a three-point play, but Thompson hit his third triple to give Efes hope. Jordan Nwora and Beaubois kept the home team moving, but Wright battled to the basket to make it 74-79 with six minutes left. Poirier’s alley-oop slam was bettered by McKissic’s triple, then Larkin’s tough jumper and Nwora’s transition layup made it 82-82. Bryant’s three-pointer gave Efes its first lead of the night, but free throws from Fournier and Fall made it 85-86 with two minutes to play. Larkin netted again and after a series of offensive miscues Bryant’s floater sealed a dramatic win.
