2020-21Regular SeasonRound 16
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 86
FC Barcelona 79
December 22, 2020 CET: 18:30
Local time: 20:30 SINAN ERDEM SPORTS HALL.

Larkin leads Efes past Barcelona

Anadolu Efes Istanbul broke its three-game losing streak in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season by downing FC Barcelona 86-79 at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall on Tuesday. Efes improved to 8-8 in the standings while Barcelona dropped to 11-5 and recorded back-to-back losses for the first time in this EuroLeague season. Shane Larkin led the winners with 23 points. Vasilije Micic had 17, Krunoslav Simon added 16 while Bryant Dunston got 12 for Efes. Nikola Mirotic led Barcelona with 18 points. The guests also got 15 points from Nick Calathes and 14 from Cory Higgins. Barcelona got its last lead, 43-45, right after the break, but Efes used a 12-0 run to take full control of the game, as Micic and Larkin held off the guests' comeback in the final 2 minutes.


Artem Pustovyi got Barcelona going with an alley-oop slam and Mirotic followed a layup with a three-pointer for a 0-7 lead. Simon and Dunston stepped up for Efes, igniting a 10-2 run that Micic capped with a fastbreak layup for a 10-9 lead. Mirotic and Calathes fueled an 0-11 response for the visitors in which Alex Abrines followed a wild three-point play with a triple for 10-20 Barcelona margin. Anderson and Micic got help from Sertac Sanli and Larkin to bring Efes within 18-24 after 10 minutes. Rolands Smits buried a three-pointer early in the second quarter and Pierre Oriola added a backdoor layup for a 22-29 Barcelona lead. Rodrigue Beaubois hit an up-and-under jumper, Simon struck twice from beyond the arc and Larkin added an acrobatic driving layup that let Efes regain the lead at 32-31. Sanli and Mirotic traded layups, then a red-hot Simon boosted the Efes lead to 37-33. Larkin and Simon kept pacing Efes but Mirotic, Higgins and Smits helped Barcelona tie it, 43-43, at halftime. Micic and Larkin each scored around the basket after the break and Dunston dunked for a 49-45 Efes edge. Dunston dunked again and Micic struck from downtown to make it a double-digit game, 55-45, after a 12-0 run. Higgins scored in penetration but Larkin and Simon each buried a triple to break the game open, 61-47. Dunston dunked again and Moerman joined the three-point shootout but Adam Hanga and Oriola kept Barcelona within 68-54 after 30 minutes. Calathes hit a floater early in the fourth quarter before Larkin and Dunston restored a 72-56 Efes lead. Hanga and Calathes tried to ignite the guests' comeback, then Higgins and Mirotic each sank a triple to make it 75-67 with over 6 minutes left. Micic and Higgins exchanged driving layups, and Calathes improved that with a three-pointer for a 77-72 score. Micic kept pacing Efes with 4 quick points but Calathes and Mirotic kept Barcelona as close at 81-77 with 1:16 left. Larkin took over with a huge driving basket and sealed the outcome from the foul line.

Pivotal performer

Larkin showed his best version in this game. He was simply unstoppable at times, making the difference in the game with 23 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and as many as 9 fouls drawn for a season-high PIR of 37.

Game-changing moment

Efes trailed 43-45 right after halftime but kept Barcelona scoreless for almost 5 minutes. Meanwhile, Larkin and Micic combined for 7 points and 3 assists in a 12-0 run in which Dunston dunked twice. By the time Micic fed Larkin for a bomb from downtown, Efes led 55-43 and never looked back.

Stellar stat

Efes shot the ball much better inside the arc. Both teams took 38 two-point attempts but Efes hit 22 (57.9%) and Barcelona just 17 (44.7%). Efes had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.8 (19 assists, 5 turnovers) and Barcelona had a 1.15 ratio (15 assists, 13 turnovers).

Did you know?

Larkin reached a PIR of 35 or better against Barcelona for the third time in his EuroLeague career. Previously, Larkin had a PIR of 43 against Barcelona (37 points, 3 shots missed) on March 8, 2019, and recorded a PIR of 35 (26 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) al Palau Blaugrana on January 10, 2020.

Next game

Both teams return to EuroLeague action next week in Round 17. Efes hosts Real Madrid on Tuesday, December 29. A day later, on Wednesday, December 30, Barcelona visits FC Bayern Munich and its former swingman Nihad Dedovic.

Shane Larkin - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - EB20
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Euroleague.net
Referees: LOTTERMOSER, ROBERT; JAVOR, DAMIR; KOLJENSIC, MILOS
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234
Anadolu Efes Istanbul18252518
FC Barcelona24191125
End of Quarter1234
Anadolu Efes Istanbul18436886
FC Barcelona24435479
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 LARKIN, SHANE 31:12 23 6/10 2/6 5/7 1 6 7 8 2 1   1   9 37
1 BEAUBOIS, RODRIGUE 7:53 2 1/2           1         2 1 1
2 SINGLETON, CHRIS 18:11     0/2   1   1 1   1     1   -2
4 BALBAY, DOGUS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 GECIM, TOLGA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
15 SANLI, SERTAC 10:58 6 1/1   4/4                 3 2 5
18 MOERMAN, ADRIEN 22:04 5 1/2 1/3   3 4 7 1 1 2     3 1 7
19 TUNCER, BUGRAHAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
22 MICIC, VASILIJE 31:31 17 5/8 1/4 4/4   3 3 5 1 1     4 3 18
23 ANDERSON, JAMES 15:06 5 1/2   3/5 1   1 1 1   1   3 2 5
42 DUNSTON, BRYANT 28:47 12 6/10   0/2 2 3 5 1 2   3 1 4 3 15
44 SIMON, KRUNOSLAV 34:18 16 1/3 4/10 2/2 1 3 4 1         1 1 13
Team           1 1 2     1         1
Totals 200:00 86 22/38 8/25 18/24 10 20 30 19 7 6 4 2 21 22 100
        57.9% 32% 75%
Head coach: ATAMAN, ERGIN
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
FC Barcelona
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
8 HANGA, ADAM 13:08 6 0/2 1/2 3/4 2 2 4 2   3     4 2 3
9 BOLMARO, LEANDRO 6:39 2 0/1   2/2       2 1       2 3 5
10 SMITS, ROLANDS 19:25 6 0/1 2/5   1 1 2 1   1     2   2
14 PUSTOVYI, ARTEM 6:08 2 1/2       1 1         1     1
18 ORIOLA, PIERRE 21:25 8 4/8     6 1 7 2       1 2 4 14
21 ABRINES, ALEX 26:26 6 1/5 1/7 1/1 2 4 6       1 1 4 1 -1
22 HIGGINS, CORY 29:32 14 3/7 1/2 5/5   4 4 1   4   1 2 4 11
23 MARTINEZ, SERGI 1:56                              
24 KURIC, KYLE 14:35 2 1/1 0/3     1 1 1         1    
33 MIROTIC, NIKOLA 31:07 18 4/6 2/2 4/4 3 5 8     2     3 5 24
99 CALATHES, NICK 29:39 15 3/5 2/6 3/3 1 5 6 6 1 3 1   2 2 20
Team           2 2 4     1         3
Totals 200:00 79 17/38 9/27 18/19 17 26 43 15 2 14 2 4 22 21 82
        44.7% 33.3% 94.7%
Head coach: JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS

Head Coaches

ATAMAN, ERGIN
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
in the second and third quarters, we played perfect basketball. We found very good assists, and with these assists, we started to score also inside, pick-and-roll, from penetration, spot-up shots, and we got a big advantage. In the last quarter, again, we were tired and stressed because everybody knows that we are not happy with our situation so far in the classification. So we had some stress and made some easy mistakes, refusing to take some shots. That gave them [the chance to] come back in the game but we controlled the last two or three minutes. I think that tonight, we played at the basketball level that we played in the last two years."
JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS
FC Barcelona
"Congratulations to Ergin Ataman and Efes for the game. They were a little bit better team today. I think we completely lost control of the basketball game in the third quarter. I guess that the halftime speech didn't help, the two timeouts didn't help. I am happy about the reaction of the guys to make it a game, to show it like this. I think that playing a fourth game in seven days probably took a toll on us. We were not so fresh in this situation, even when it is not really an excuse because we had a really good game against Joventut on Sunday. We managed to control the minutes of our guys and today also, in the first half, we really rotated the guys but were a little bit collapsed there in the third quarter. It was really difficult to come back from that even though we made a great effort in the fourth quarter."

Players

LARKIN, SHANE
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
"It feels good. We have been struggling as a team, so to be able to come out here and get a good win against a team that is at the top of the standings is good for our team, good for our chemistry, good for our morale and hopefully, we can just go from here. Sometimes your back is going to be against the wall and those are the times when you have to show your true character and fight through adversity. I am just trying to get back to where I want to be for my team and hopefully, they can continue to stay patient, stay with me, and we can pull through this."
MICIC, VASILIJE
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
"It feels good. Sometimes we struggle to close the games and today we improved that part, I guess, because we played smarter in the last two minutes. There is nothing much to say except that we really played hard in the second half and really showed each of us has pride inside of us and want to show it in every game. I am really happy for this victory because it is not easy to handle the expectation and at the same time, the team spirit was not at the highest level in previous games even though we wanted to win. Today, I think we have to learn from this game and turn ourselves for every next game with the same approach. There is nothing much to say about Shane Larkin, too. He was the MVP last year and was definitely searching for his rhythm. It was not also easy for him, I know that he is not doing anything on purpose against the team or against somebody in the team. He was trying to find that rhythm that everybody knows. I think that he had some special motivation against Barcelona, also, and maybe this game will turn his confidence on fire and since today, hopefully, be on the same page every game."
HANGA, ADAM
FC Barcelona
"The third quarter was decisive. They scored 5 or 6 three-point shots in a row and that is when we lost control of the game. It is tough. It was a tough game. They were on a three-game losing streak and we wanted to win because we lost our last game against Maccabi. We really wanted to win this one and have to go for the next one. We wanted to have a strong start and managed to do it, but like I said, the third quarter was decisive. We were not able to stop Larkin and Micic. We tried to return to the game but it was too late."
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