2018-19PlayoffsGame 3
FC Barcelona Lassa 68
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 102
April 24, 2019 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 PALAU BLAUGRANA

Efes sets records in rout of Barcelona

Anadolu Efes Istanbul led from start to finish to come within a win of a place in the Final Four, thrashing FC Barcelona Lassa 68-102 to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five playoff series. It was one of the biggest road wins in club history for Efes, which is yet to win a EuroLeague Playoffs series this century. Shane Larking starred with 30 points on near-perfect shooting, including 6 of 7 on three-pointers. Vasilije Micic had 14 points and 8 assists and Bryant Dunston collected 10 points and 10 rebounds among Efes's six scorers in double digits. Adam Hanga had 13 points and Kyle Kuric scored 12 in defeat.

Efes came out on fire with Krunoslav Simon and Rodrigue Beaubois sinking a three-pointer apiece to make it 4-10 before Simon knocked down two more from downtown and opened a 9-20 lead after 7 minutes of play. Hanga gave Barcelona a spark off the bench, stringing together 8 consecutive points right away and a three-pointer from Pau Ribas cut the deficit to 20-24. But Tibor Pleiss beat the buzzer with a layup to end the first, before a jumper from Larkin and a triple from Micic made it 23-31 in the second. Efes continued its charge, with a second-chance triple from Adrien Moerman and assist from Micic for dunks by Dunston and Moerman making it 27-40. Thomas Heurtel had a floater and a triple for Barcelona, but Larkin still increased the margin to 32-46. Kuric hit from long range and Kevin Seraphin twice inside, however, back-to-back last-minute triples from Larkin made it 39-52 at halftime.

Hanga and Kuric hit a second-chance triple apiece to open the third quarter and get Barcelona back into the thick of things, but only briefly. Larkin nailed back-to-back triples and Simon added a crafty runner to restore a double-digit lead, 50-60. Hanga and Ante Tomic kept the hosts in touch, 56-64, but Larkin had a triple and a three-point play to make it 56-73 and Efes scored 9 points in the final 62 seconds of the third quarter in surging to 57-84. Moerman scored from close range and Larkin from long range again to make it 57-89 before Seraphin’s basket snapped a 1-25 run early in the fourth period. But, Barcelona's tough night was far from over, as the hosts were left without a point for another 6 and a half minutes during which Dunston, Micic, James Anderson and Pleiss put together a 0-11 run for a 62-100 lead, the largest of the night.

Record stats

The 102 points were the most a team has scored in a EuroLeague Playoffs game since 2005. Efes hit 14 triples, tying the most by a road team in EuroLeague Playoffs this century.

Third quarter magic

It took Efes more than 3 minutes to score at the start of the third quarter, but Shane Larkin’s triple opened the floodgates. Efes scored 32 points in the remaining 6:53 of the quarter, including a 0-17 run during a span of 3 minutes and 25 seconds.

Big contributors

Shane Larkin led the way with 30 points, Vasilije Micic had 14 points and 8 assists, and Tibor Pleiss 14 points and 6 rebounds. Adrien Moerman collected 13 points and 6 rebounds, Krunoslav Simon finished with 11 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds, and Bryant Dunston had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Efes.

Did you notice

Both teams made 8 free throws. Efes was perfect 8 for 8, but Barcelona made 8 out of 21 attempts.

Next game

Barcelona will try to bounce back and extend its season when two teams meet again for Game 4 on Friday in Palau Blaugrana. Efes, on the other hand, will try to close out the series and clinch a Final Four ticket.

Shane Larkin - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - EB18
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Euroleague.net
Referees: CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS; PUKL,SASA; PANTHER, ANNE
Attendance: 7049
By Quarter1234
FC Barcelona Lassa20191811
Anadolu Efes Istanbul26263218
End of Quarter1234
FC Barcelona Lassa20395768
Anadolu Efes Istanbul265284102
FC Barcelona Lassa
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 SERAPHIN, KEVIN 11:03 6 3/4   0/2   1 1     1 1   1 1 4
3 PANGOS, KEVIN 22:44   0/3 0/1 0/2   1 1 3           2  
5 RIBAS, PAU 19:58 9 1/4 2/4 1/2 1 4 5 1 2 2       4 13
6 SINGLETON, CHRIS 22:00 3 0/3 1/2   2 4 6     1 1 1 2   2
8 HANGA, ADAM 16:34 13 5/5 1/2 0/1 1 1 2 3         1 2 17
9 BLAZIC, JAKA 10:26 3   0/1 3/4 1   1 1         1 2 4
10 SMITS, ROLANDS 12:41   0/5 0/1   2 1 3 1       1 1 1 -3
13 HEURTEL, THOMAS 20:01 7 2/4 1/3   1 1 2 2   5     1 3 4
18 ORIOLA, PIERRE 16:49 2 1/4 0/2 0/2 4 1 5 1 1 1 1   2 1 1
24 KURIC, KYLE 20:56 12 1/3 3/4 1/2 1 2 3         1 1 2 11
30 CLAVER, VICTOR 9:21 2 1/2     1   1               2
44 TOMIC, ANTE 17:27 11 4/9   3/6 2 2 4 1         1 4 11
Team           2   2               2
Totals 200:00 68 18/46 8/20 8/21 18 18 36 13 3 10 3 3 11 22 68
        39.1% 40% 38.1%
Head coach: PESIC, SVETISLAV
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
0 LARKIN, SHANE 23:43 30 5/5 6/7 2/2 1 2 3 2 1 2     2 3 34
1 BEAUBOIS, RODRIGUE 18:46 7 2/3 1/3     3 3 2         2   7
4 BALBAY, DOGUS 7:47   0/1 0/1     1 1 1       1 2   -3
12 MOTUM, BROCK DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
15 SANLI, SERTAC 2:42                              
18 MOERMAN, ADRIEN 30:59 13 5/6 1/4   1 5 6 1     1   2 1 16
19 TUNCER, BUGRAHAN 2:42   0/1 0/1                   1   -3
21 PLEISS, TIBOR 13:14 14 5/5 0/1 4/4 2 4 6     2     3 2 16
22 MICIC, VASILIJE 31:16 14 3/7 2/4 2/2   1 1 8 3 1   2 3 4 18
23 ANDERSON, JAMES 11:28 3   1/3     1 1               2
42 DUNSTON, BRYANT 32:10 10 5/5     2 8 10 3 3   2   4 1 25
44 SIMON, KRUNOSLAV 25:13 11 1/2 3/8     4 4 8 1 1     3   14
Team           3 1 4     1         3
Totals 200:00 102 26/35 14/32 8/8 9 30 39 25 8 7 3 3 22 11 129
        74.3% 43.8% 100%
Head coach: ATAMAN, ERGIN

Head Coaches

PESIC, SVETISLAV
FC Barcelona Lassa
"Congratulations to Efes. They played an excellent game. They were very, very good, but you play like the opponent gives you the chance. There is no question that we wanted to win the game, we wanted it in any case, this is playoffs, we play at home, the gym is sold out, excellent atmosphere, but we did not play tonight. One more time, the defense was very bad. Our physical aggressiveness against a team that has experience and talent in offense, you cannot play against them like we played tonight. They had 22 fouls, we committed only 11. They made 26 points in the first quarter, we were not in the bonus. They scored 26 points in the second quarter, we made only 2 fouls. Fouls are part of the defense. If you cannot stop for a defensive reason, you lose your balance, you don’t have a smart decision, then fouls are part of the game. One player who scored 30 points shot only 2 free throws. It is not possible to win a game like that and not only in EuroLeague Playoffs against Efes."
ATAMAN, ERGIN
Anadolu Efes Istanbul

"We played a perfect game. We started to play aggressive defense. We changed a little bit our defensive strategy and were successful. On offense, we did not make the mistake we made in Istanbul to stop the ball and try to attack immediately against their switching against the first mismatch. We rotated the ball very well, from inside to outside, from outside to inside, we always found open shots and we made them. In this kind of game, it is very important in the first quarter that the team gets confidence. From there, it was a perfect game for us. We stopped Heurtel on offense, who I believe is the key to their offense. We only had a problem at the beginning of the second half, when we stopped the ball and made early three-point shots and missed. But we immediately came back to our offensive system like we did in the first half. After that, I think Barcelona was demoralized, they started to miss open shots under the basket."

"We played the whole season like this, but we did not play good basketball in Istanbul and now we played perfect again. Congratulations to my players, but it is just 2-1. We need to rest, to analyze this game, and try to play the same way with the same strategy on Friday. We have good confidence now, but I don’t think Barcelona will give up. Every game is a different story."

Players

HANGA, ADAM
FC Barcelona Lassa
"We see everything very negative. It was a devastating loss. There is no explanation for losing at home by 40 points. In 48 hours we have to play the second game. We have to play much much tougher, much more physical and we have to play our game. We have to step up our game, everybody individually, and as a team we have to stick together. We have to prepare ourselves for the next game. It is a war, and we have to fight until the end."
PANGOS, KEVIN
FC Barcelona Lassa
"You never want to lose like that, but we have another game coming up soon. In Game 4 we have to do the opposite of what we did today. We have to do a lot better. We have a chance to look at the film and do a lot better in the next game. We just ask the fans to stay with us. The series isn't over yet. Let's come back and get a big win."
PLEISS, TIBOR
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
"Especially in the third quarter, we hustled for every ball, we protected the basket really well as a team. And in general, everybody put his energy on the court and that helped us win the game. Larkin was fantastic, he pushed us the whole game. Sometimes we have problems to score, but Shane was always there. It is good to have confidence, especially in this series. Barcelona is now under a lot of pressure, we are for sure, too, but now it's a little bit easier for us. In two days, the team with more energy will win."
LARKIN, SHANE
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
"It was a good game for us. We lost one at home the last time we played against them by 2 points, a really close one. We wanted to come out tonight and play with a lot of energy, a lot of defensive intensity, and I am glad we had another win. It does not matter at all what I do individualy. As long as we get wins as a team, it really does not matter who is scoring the points or is getting the rebounds, assists or steals. As long as we win and get closer to our goal, that is all I care about. One more game to the Final Four. It is going to be tough, they are a great team. We've got to stay together, stay focused, not relax, play with the same intensity and hopefully we can get one more and go to the Final Four."