2014-15Top 16Round 13
April 03, 2015 CET: 19:00
Local time: 20:00 ABDI IPEKCI ARENA

Anadolu Efes rallies behind Heurtel to KO Milan

Down 10 in the third quarter, Thomas Heurtel came alive to spark an impressive turnaround as Anadolu Efes Istanbul too charge to defeat EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 86-78 on Friday at Abdi Ipekci Arena. The win improved Efes to 6-7 in Top 16 Group F and left it in control of its destiny; a victory next week will send Efes to the playoffs. The result also eliminated Milan from playoff contention after the Italian champion fell to 4-9. Huertel buried 4 three-pointers and scored 16 of his game-high 26 points in the third quarter. After a 12-0 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters, the hosts led 68-59. The difference grew to 13 and despite some late shooting from MarShon Brooks, Milan never threatened again. It was a different story in the first half when Alessandro Gentile scored 11 in the first quarter to give the visitors a 13-24 advantage, which reached 15-30 before Efes closed the gap to 36-42 by halftime. Heurtel also dished 5 assists for the winners, while Nenad Krstic scored 22 and Dario Saric added 14 points. Brooks and Gentile led Milan with 17 points apiece. Samardo Samuels scored 16 and Daniel Hackett tallied 13 points and 8 assists in the losing effort.

First quarter: Gentile scores 11 to lift Milan to strong start

Huertel’s bounce pass found Krstic open for a jumper and the game’s first basket. Gentile got Milan on the scoreboard with a pair of free throws. Hackett dished to Samuels for a driving layup and then sank a short jumper of his own. Matt Janning tried to ignite the hosts, but Gentile took over with a two-handed slam, a free throw and a three-pointer on three consecutive possessions. Hackett added a jumper before Efes Coach Dusan Ivkovic called timeout at 4-13. Krstic tried to ignite the hosts with his second basket, but also committed an offensive foul on the ensuing possession. Milan doubled Efes up when David Moss’s triple made it 8-16. Gentile’s fade-away jumper gave the visitors their first double-digit lead. Krstic’s slam was followed by Moss’s jumper. Hackett padded the advantage with a long jumper. Saric was knocked to the ground on a hard foul by Frank Elegar and split free throws. He then dished a great pass to Stephane Lasme, who was fouled by Elegar as he tried to dunk. Gentile added 2 free throws for a 13-24 cushion.

Second quarter: Krstic, Heurtel keep Efes in it

Brooks made an instant impact with a jumper. Furkan Korkmaz scored for the hosts on the break. After Lasme rose to reject Brooks, Elegar committed his third foul and took a seat. Milan retained the momentum as Gentile sliced through the Efes defense for another layup and Samuels scored inside to make it 15-30. Krstic scored inside and Milko Bjelica added a tip-in as Efes looked to climb back. Brooks drove for a tough layup to make it 19-32 midway through the quarter. Heurtel buried an open three to trim the deficit to 10. After Joe Ragland drove for a layup, Heurtel drained another triple. Then Cedi Osman stepped up with a rejection of Gentile at one end and an assist to Krstic for a slam at the other. After a Milan timeout, Samuels scored on the offensive glass. Heurtel buried a floater, but also committed an offensive foul. Brooks shined with a tough jumper and Samuels added free throws. Shawn James rejected Bjelica, which allowed Hackett to restore a double-digit advantage from the line. Bjelica’s tip-in and a Saric triple trimmed the gap to 36-42 at the break.

Third quarter: Heurtel makes 4 threes, scores 16 as Efes storms in front

Samuels scored inside and Nicolo Melli rejected Heurtel at one end and finished the break at the other to put the difference at 10 again. After Efes came up empty on the three-shot possession, Hackett bankd in a jumper to make it 36-48. Stratos Perperoglou drove to wake the hosts up. After a Huertel jumper, Samuels connected on a triple. Heurtel netted a three to cut the deficit to 44-53 midway through the quarter. Gentile and Saric each scored from close range. After the TV timeout, Perperoglou’s steal and Saric’s tip-in made it a 7-point game. Heurtel’s layup brought Efes within 50-55 and triggered a Milan timeout. Hackett came up with a steal that led to a Gentile layup, but Heurtel nailed back-to-back threes to bring the crowd to its feet at 56-57. Hackett drilled a shot with his feet on the three-point arc. Krstic sank 2 free throws and then a jumper to give Efes its first lead of the night. Heurtel ended the quarter with another three for a 63-59 advantage.

Fourth quarter: Hosts finish 12-0 run and never look back

Things started to unravel for the visitors as Krstic sank 2 free throws and Heurtel added another on a technical foul on the Milan bench. The two hooked up again as Heurtel assisted Krstic to take the run to 12 unanswered points. Samuels scored inside to revive the visitors, but Osman buried a three for a 71-61 advantage. The arena erupted when Saric beat the shot-clock buzzer with a three. Elegar shined with a two-handed slam and Brooks scored too, but Lasme had the hosts cruising at 76-65 with five minutes remaining. Heurtel made a free throw from a technical foul on Gentile. Lasme split foul shots for a 13-point cushion. Kleiza gave Milan hope after a three with less than three minutes to play. Perperoglou’s put-back helped seal the win with time to spare. Even though Brooks added a pair of late threes – including a four-point play – Milan never got closer than 6.

Thomas Heurtel - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - EB14
Friday, April 3, 2015
Euroleague.net
Referees: CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS; SHULGA, BORIS; PASTUSIAK, PIOTR
Attendance: 5781
By Quarter1234
Anadolu Efes Istanbul13232723
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan24181719
End of Quarter1234
Anadolu Efes Istanbul13366386
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan24425978
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 0:04   0/1                         -1
6 OSMAN, CEDI 15:28 3 0/2 1/1   2 6 8 3   1 1       12
7 PERPEROGLOU, STRATOS 28:26 8 2/4 0/3 4/4 4 4 8 1 2 1     3 3 13
8 BATUK, BIRKAN 8:01     0/1                   1   -2
9 SARIC, DARIO 26:56 14 2/6 2/2 4/6 3 4 7 3         2 3 19
10 DRAPER, DONTAYE 19:38   0/1 0/2     1 1 5 2       5 2 2
12 KRSTIC, NENAD 26:05 22 8/11   6/6 3 2 5 1   3 1   3 6 26
13 LASME, STEPHANE 13:05 5 1/4   3/4   1 1 1     1   2 2 4
22 KORKMAZ, FURKAN 9:22 2 1/2 0/2     1 1   1         1 2
23 JANNING, MATT 13:49 2 1/2 0/3     1 1         1 1 1 -2
31 HEURTEL, THOMAS 29:06 26 3/9 6/8 2/2   2 2 5   1   2 4 2 20
51 BJELICA, MILKO 10:00 4 2/4     2 2 4         1   1 6
Team           2   2     1         1
Totals 200:00 86 20/46 9/22 19/22 16 24 40 19 5 7 3 4 21 21 100
        43.5% 40.9% 86.4%
Head coach: IVKOVIC, DUSAN
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
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 RAGLAND, JOE 14:06 2 1/2 0/2         2 1 1     2 3 2
2 BROOKS, MARSHON 23:00 17 4/11 2/5 3/3 1 3 4       1 1   2 13
5 GENTILE, ALESSANDRO 31:52 17 6/12 0/3 5/6 1 1 2 2   3   1 3 5 9
6 GIGLI, ANGELO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 CERELLA, BRUNO 0:54                              
9 MELLI, NICOLO 20:39 3 1/6 0/3 1/2 4 2 6 1     2   1 1 3
11 KLEIZA, LINAS 20:09 3   1/1     2 2           3 2 4
15 ELEGAR, FRANK 13:33 2 1/3   0/1 4 5 9 1   1     3 2 7
21 JAMES, SHAWN 1:22                 1   1       2
23 HACKETT, DANIEL 26:33 13 5/7 0/2 3/4   1 1 8 1 1     4 3 16
24 SAMUELS, SAMARDO 23:59 16 5/7 1/1 3/4 3 4 7   1 1   1 3 3 19
34 MOSS, DAVID 23:53 5 1/1 1/1     4 4 2   1     3   7
Team           3 2 5           1   4
Totals 200:00 78 24/49 5/18 15/20 16 24 40 16 4 8 4 3 23 21 86
        49% 27.8% 75%
Head coach: BANCHI, LUCA

Head Coaches

IVKOVIC, DUSAN
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
“We had a well-deserved win tonight against EA7 Emporio Armani. It was a very tough game to play for both sides. And it was hard as we expected. In the first half we didn’t perform well. Maybe it was because of the pressure of the situation in the group. Our opponent also made everything tough for us. But in the second half, we showed our desire to win the game. Thomas Heurtel and Nenad Krstic had great games. Dontaye Draper didn’t score but he also made 5 assists and stole the ball twice without making any turnover. He was excellent in defense. And this was the key for the win.”
BANCHI, LUCA
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
“Anadolu Efes made a great comeback to win the game. At the beginning of the game we had much more desire to win than Efes. We thought that we could keep going at at the same level. But starting by the third quarter, Anadolu Efes became much more aggressive in defense and broke our balance on offense. I want to say something extra about Thomas Heurtel. He had an excellent night and he was one of the main reasons we lost.”

Players

HEURTEL, THOMAS
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
“This is a very important win for us to keep our chances alive in the group. We started the game bad. Maybe we were a little bit nervous. But we balanced the game in the second half with good defense. And then good defense fired up our offence. I’m happy to help the team in any way. I also want to congratulate my teammates for their great effort.”