2014-15PlayoffsGame 1
Real Madrid 80
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 71
April 15, 2015 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 BARCLAYCARD CENTER

Ayon, Rivers star as Madrid rallies past Efes

Real Madrid enjoyed two huge performances from players that are normally the supporting cast as it rallied past Anadolu Efes Istanbul 80-71 in the opening game of their best-of-five playoffs series. K.C. Rivers led the way with a career-high 21 points on 6-of-7 three-point shooting and Gustavo Ayon posted his first career double-double for Madrid, which rallied from an 11-point second-quarter deficit. The hosts used a dominant third quarter in which it outscored Efes 26-10. Madrid won its ninth straight Euroleague home game in improving to 20-5 for the season. Ayon finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals. Felipe Reyes added 12 points and Rudy Fernandez scored 10 for the victors. Dario Saric paced Efes with 13 points and Cedi Osman scored 11, Point guard Thomas Heurtel dished 11 assists for Efes, but also tied a Euroleague playoffs record with 8 turnovers. He shares that distinction with Rimas Kaukenas, who committed 8 turnovers with Montepaschi Siena against Panathinaikos in 2009.

First quarter: After 6 ties, Madrid holds narrow lead

Both teams came out hot. Efes won the opening tip and Dontaye Draper promptly nailed a three-pointer. Reyes scored the hosts’ first points. Stratos Perperoglou worked inside for a short jumper for the visitors. Rivers sank 2 free throws and then drilled a three to tie the game at 7-7. More than two minutes passed before the game’s first miss. Ayon’s second-chance basket gave Madrid its first lead. Krstic drew Reyes’s second foul and tied the game at 11-11 with free throws. Janning made a tough layup to take an 11-13 lead midway through the quarter. Ayon buried a baseline jumper and Llull split free throws for another Madrid lead. Rivers added a four-point play to lead 18-13. A basket by Osman and free throws by Saric closed the gap. Thomas Heurtel’s great pass found Stephane Lasme for a layup. Ayon netted free throws to keep Madrid ahead. Saric split free throws to tie the game for the sixth time, 20-20. An Andres Nocioni drive gave the hosts a 22-20 edge after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Heurtel leads 0-15 Efes charge

Osman attacked the rim, drew a foul and split free throws. Heurtel then put the visitors ahead by 1 before Jonas Maciulis tied the game at 23-23. Jaycee Carroll buried a floater and Sergio Rodriguez sank free throws as the hosts looked to pull away. Instead Draper drained his second three, some fantastic team passing opened up a layup for Lasme and Osman scored on the break to put Efes ahead 27-30. Madrid tried to turn things around with a timeout, but instead the Efes defense forced a 24-second violation and Saric nailed a triple. Osman stole a pass, drew a foul and split free throws. Lasme added a jumper and Heurtel did the same to cap a 0-15 charge for a 27-38 lead. Rudy ended Madrid’s drought with a free throws and Llull closed the gap to 6 with a three-pointer. After a timeout, Rudy connected from downtown. Saric drove for an impressive layup and added a triple to keep the visitors in control at 35-43.

Third quarter: Rivers’s threes help Madrid storm ahead

Rudy scored a tough basket inside to start the second half. Reyes added free throws, but a jumper from Janning kept Efes on top. Llull answered with a floater to make it 41-45. Rudy knocked down a triple and Ayon’s steal and slam put the hosts in front, 46-45. Birkan batuk hit back with a triple for Efes. Reyes tied the game and then put Madrid in front, 50-48. After a timeout, Rivers buried a three-pointer. Perperoglou knocked down a three-pointer, but Rivers heated up with a pair of triples for a 59-51 advantage. Heurtel found Saric on the break for a layup. A Nocioni tip-in made it 61-53 at the end of the quarter.

Fourth quarter: Madrid finish second-half domination

Nocioni made a pretty layup for a 10-point Madrid advantage. Krstic hit a jumper and tipped in a Saric miss on the break. Saric was called for a technical foul, which Carroll converted. Osman nailed a clutch three to close within 66-60. Reyes worked his way to a layup and then rejected Saric. Reyes fed Ayon for a slam and Rodriguez’s steal led to a Reyes dunk and a 12-point advantage. After a timeout, Milko Bjelica tried to spark his team with a basket-plus-foul. But Rivers nailed his sixth three and after Krstic split free throws, Rodriguez added a three for a 14-point lead. Krstic banked in a shot and Ayon matched him with 2 free throws. Batuk and Bjelica narrowed the gap in the final minutes, but the outcome was no longer in question.

Gustavo Ayon celebrates - Real Madrid - EB14
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Euroleague.net
Referees: PUKL,SASA; GKONTAS, SPIROS; PATERNICO, CARMELO
Attendance: 10717
By Quarter1234
Real Madrid22132619
Anadolu Efes Istanbul20231018
End of Quarter1234
Real Madrid22356180
Anadolu Efes Istanbul20435371
Real Madrid
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 RIVERS, KC 23:07 21 0/2 6/7 3/3 1 4 5 1 1 2     4 2 21
5 FERNANDEZ, RUDY 24:11 10 1/5 2/7 2/2 1 1 2 3 1 3     3 4 5
6 NOCIONI, ANDRES 11:49 6 3/5   0/2 1 2 3     1     1 1 4
7 CAMPAZZO, FACUNDO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 MACIULIS, JONAS 9:40 3 1/1   1/2   3 3 1   1     1 2 6
9 REYES, FELIPE 20:27 12 5/6   2/2 1 3 4 1   2 1   3 3 15
13 RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO 20:36 5 0/2 1/6 2/2 1 2 3 5 2 1       1 8
14 AYON, GUSTAVO 27:12 14 5/7   4/4 2 8 10   4   1   2 4 29
20 CARROLL, JAYCEE 13:51 3 1/2 0/2 1/1                 1 1  
23 LLULL, SERGIO 28:35 6 1/2 1/5 1/2       7     1   2 2 8
30 BOUROUSIS, IOANNIS 4:17           1 1     1     2   -2
44 SLAUGHTER, MARCUS 16:15   0/1     2 1 3 2 1       2   3
Team             2 2     2          
Totals 200:00 80 17/33 10/27 16/20 9 27 36 20 9 13 3 0 21 20 97
        51.5% 37% 80%
Head coach: LASO, PABLO
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
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 BALBAY, DOGUS 1:46               1             1
6 OSMAN, CEDI 20:32 11 3/5 1/2 2/4   2 2 1 3 1     3 3 11
7 PERPEROGLOU, STRATOS 19:28 5 1/5 1/2     1 1 3   1     2 1 2
8 BATUK, BIRKAN 14:09 5 1/3 1/3   1   1         1 3   -2
9 SARIC, DARIO 24:46 13 2/5 2/4 3/4   5 5 1 1 1   1 3 3 12
10 DRAPER, DONTAYE 28:08 6 0/2 2/4     4 4 2   1   1 2 3 7
12 KRSTIC, NENAD 22:33 9 3/5   3/4 2 4 6   1 1       5 17
13 LASME, STEPHANE 17:27 6 3/3       2 2 1 2 3     2 2 8
23 JANNING, MATT 12:49 6 3/3 0/2                   1 1 4
31 HEURTEL, THOMAS 23:08 4 2/2 0/1     3 3 11   8     2 1 8
32 KILICLI, DENIZ DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
51 BJELICA, MILKO 15:14 6 2/4 0/1 2/3 1   1           3 2 2
Team           2 2 4               4
Totals 200:00 71 20/37 7/19 10/15 6 23 29 20 7 16 0 3 21 21 74
        54.1% 36.8% 66.7%
Head coach: IVKOVIC, DUSAN

Head Coaches

LASO, PABLO
Real Madrid
"We managed to get a win in a game that was difficult for us from the beginning. We didn't have good rhythm in the first half. We were always trailing them on defense and offense, doing everything a second late. We took a lot of shots in the first half, but didn't work on them. We were much more focused on defense and offense in the second half, controlling other aspects that escaped us before like rebounds. That allowed us to play better and win Game 1. It is tough to win these games, but is logical, these are the Euroleague playoffs. A 1-0 lead is a good start, but there is a long way to go."
IVKOVIC, DUSAN
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
"Real Madrid was the fair winner tonight. The game had two very different halves. We worked very well in the first half against one of the best offensive teams in Europe and maybe my team got scared in the second half. We had a lot of turnovers while Ayon and Rivers - to me, the great surprise of the series - handed us this loss. We have to learn a lot from this game and we will have another chance to play good basketball on Friday."

Players

RIVERS, KC
Real Madrid
"It was a very tough game, which is what you expect in the Euroleague playoffs. Efes's playing level didn't surprise us, especially with a Euroleague-winning coach. We took the first step and have to forget about that and focus on Friday's game to go to Turkey with a 2-0 lead. We will try to play a similar game on Friday, playing the way we did in the second half."
LLULL, SERGIO
Real Madrid
"We didn't play well in the first half, didn't have a fluid offense, were anxious and rushing things. That caused us to trail at halftime. We were much more focused after the break, more calm and that allowed us to win the game and go up 1-0. I think it is critical, very important to win on Friday to go to Turkey with a big lead in the series."
DRAPER, DONTAYE
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
"We want to compete in these playoffs, it is the least we can do. It will be a very long series and it was a tough game tonight, but this just got started. I think we may even go to Game 5. We will have another opportunity to fix some of our mistakes, which we made against one of the best teams in Europe, on Friday."
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