2018-19PlayoffsGame 4
FC Barcelona Lassa 82
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 72
April 26, 2019 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 PALAU BLAUGRANA

Barcelona tops Efes, ties series again

FC Barcelona Lassa survived a do-or-die situation by downing Anadolu Efes Istanbul 82-72 at home in Game 4 of their best-of-five series on Friday. Their series, tied 2-2, will be decided when Efes hosts Game 5 next week. Barcelona retained a chance to reach the Final Four for the first time since 2014 and Efes can punch its first Final Four ticket since 2001. Kyle Kuric led the winners with 19 points. Ante Tomic added 13 while Kevin Seraphin and Chris Singleton each had 12 for Barcelona. Shane Larkin led Efes with 20 points. Krunoslav Simon added 17, Adrien Moerman 11 and Rodrigue Beaubois 10 for the guests. Bryant Dunston and Simon each hit a triple and Larkin added a pair of his own in a 0-14 run that gave Efesa 15-22 margin after 10 minutes. Kuric and Seraphin rescued Barcelona in the second quarter but a three-pointer by Adrien Moerman kept Efes in charge, 36-38, at halftime. Barcelona excelled on defense throughout the third quarter, as Kuric, Victor Claver and Thomas Heurtel broke the game open, 63-46. Nothing changed after that, as even when Efes got within 74-67, it was already too little, too late for the Turkish powerhouse.

A layup by Tomic and a floater by Kevin Pangos gave the hosts a 4-0 lead. Beaubois and Moerman each struck from downtown for Efes, but Pangos tied it at 6-6. Tomic and Singleton combined for all points in a 6-0 run that restored a 12-8 Barcelona lead. Larkin took over with a four-point play, igniting a 0-14 run in which Dunston and Simon each struck from beyond the arc. A triple by Larkin made it a double-digit game, 12-22, before Singleton joined the three-point shootout to cut Barcelona's deficit to 15-22 after 10 minutes. Kuric's baseline jumper and a layup by Seraphin brought Barcelona as close as 19-22 early in the second quarter. Larkin rescued Efes with 4 quick points but Seraphin and Kuric brought Barcelona even closer, 25-26. Vasilije Micic found his first points, getting help from Larkin and Simon to restore a 29-33 Efes lead. Tomic nailed his trademark jump hook and a three-pointer by Victor Claver ignited the crowd at 34-33. Dunston scored down low and Moerman bettered Kuric's jumper with a triple to make the guests regain the lead, 36-38, at halftime. Tomic scored around the basket right after the break and Kuric did so from downtown, putting Barcelona ahead, 41-38. Simon sank a jumper but Pangos and Tomic fueled a 7-0 Barcelona run that Singleton capped with a triple, good for a 48-40 Barcelona lead. Adam Hanga, Simon and Kuric each hit one from beyond the arc but Larkin kept Efes within 54-46. Singleton dunked and a three-pointer by Claver broke the game open, 59-46. Thomas Heurtel added a four-point play for Barcelona, while Micic and Simon kept Efes within 63-50 after 30 minutes. Larkin hit free throws and fed Moerman for a layup to give the guests hope at 63-54. Pierre Oriola scored down low and an unstoppable Heurtel kept Barcelona out of trouble, 68-56. Moerman hit a triple and Beaubois added a driving layup but Efes only managed to trade baskets now. Kuric ignited the crowd with a dunk off a steal and Tomic swished a jump hook for a 74-62 Barcelona lead with over 4 minutes left. Beaubois downed a three-pointer and Larkin brought Efes within 74-67 before Kuric and Tomic sealed the outcome from the foul line.

Pivotal performer

Claver was all over the place for Barcelona, playing defense on Efes guards while contributing in many aspects of the game. He finished the game with 8 points on 2-of-2 three-point shots, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and 2 fouls drawn for a team-high PIR of 20

Game-changing moment

A rain of three-pointers made the difference late in the third quarter. Hanga, Kuric, Claver and Heurtel each struck from beyond the arc to break the game open, 63-46. Efes tried to rally in the fourth quarter but Barcelona never lost control of the scoreboard.

Stellar stat

Rebounds and two-point shots made the difference in this critical game. Barcelona outrebounded Efes by 37-28, pulling down 14 offensive boards. Barcelona hit 25-of-48 two-point shots (52.15), limiting Efes to just 9-of-22 inside the arc (40.9%). Barcelona also took excellent care of the ball, picking up just 8 turnovers.

Did you notice?

Efes and Barcelona will play the 11th do-or-die Game 5 in a best-of-five EuroLeague playoffs series. In all 10 previous showdowns, the home team won Game 5. It is the first Game 5 showdown in two years since Olympiacos Piraeus downed Efes 87-78 in Game 5 of the 2017 playoffs. Efes is 0-2 in Game 5s historically; Barcelona is 2-1.

Next game:

Both teams meet again in a do-or-die showdown for a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four spot on Wednesday, May 1 at 19:00 CET.

Kyle Kuric celebrates - FC Barcelona Lassa - EB18
Friday, April 26, 2019
Euroleague.net
Referees: LOTTERMOSER, ROBERT; RADOVIC, SRETEN; ROCHA, FERNANDO
Attendance: 6734
By Quarter1234
FC Barcelona Lassa15212719
Anadolu Efes Istanbul22161222
End of Quarter1234
FC Barcelona Lassa15366382
Anadolu Efes Istanbul22385072
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 19:51 12 6/10     2 2 4 1   1   1 3 3 11
3 PANGOS, KEVIN 20:31 6 3/7       2 2 4   1   1 2 1 5
5 RIBAS, PAU 9:22     0/3                     1 -2
6 SINGLETON, CHRIS 28:40 12 3/4 2/6   1 4 5 1 1       4 2 12
8 HANGA, ADAM 21:10 3 0/3 1/4   2 1 3 2   2   1 2 3  
9 BLAZIC, JAKA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10 SMITS, ROLANDS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
13 HEURTEL, THOMAS 19:29 7 1/7 1/2 2/2       4 2 2   2 2 3 3
18 ORIOLA, PIERRE 12:46 2 1/1 0/1     1 1   1   1   2   2
24 KURIC, KYLE 23:30 19 5/6 2/4 3/3 1 2 3 1 2       4 1 19
30 CLAVER, VICTOR 25:58 8 0/1 2/2 2/2 3 5 8 4 1       2 2 20
44 TOMIC, ANTE 18:43 13 6/9   1/2 1 5 6     1 2 1 3 3 15
Team           4 1 5     1         4
Totals 200:00 82 25/48 8/22 8/9 14 23 37 17 7 8 3 6 24 19 89
        52.1% 36.4% 88.9%
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 32:20 20 1/2 2/4 12/14 1   1 3 3 1     3 11 29
1 BEAUBOIS, RODRIGUE 26:05 10 2/4 2/5     2 2 2   1 2   2 2 10
4 BALBAY, DOGUS 3:30     0/1                   1   -2
12 MOTUM, BROCK DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
15 SANLI, SERTAC DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
18 MOERMAN, ADRIEN 36:11 11 1/3 3/7   1 3 4 2 1 2 1     1 12
19 TUNCER, BUGRAHAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
21 PLEISS, TIBOR 14:26 2 1/3       4 4       2 1 2 1 4
22 MICIC, VASILIJE 26:06 4 1/2 0/3 2/2   4 4 4 1 3   1 5 3 3
23 ANDERSON, JAMES 1:51                   2         -2
42 DUNSTON, BRYANT 26:10 8 1/4 1/1 3/4   5 5     1 1 1 4 3 7
44 SIMON, KRUNOSLAV 33:21 17 2/4 3/5 4/6 1 3 4 2   3     2 3 15
Team           2 2 4     1         3
Totals 200:00 72 9/22 11/26 21/26 5 23 28 13 5 14 6 3 19 24 79
        40.9% 42.3% 80.8%
Head coach: ATAMAN, ERGIN

Head Coaches

PESIC, SVETISLAV
FC Barcelona Lassa

"It was a game that we expected. A tough game, the game that we needed to win in any case, if we wanted to force one more game against one big team, a team that plays very good basketball. One more time, we showed that if we play like a team and control the rebounds like we did tonight… I think we played a perfect game; 37 rebounds, 14 offensive rebounds, doesn't happen every day. To keep an offensive-oriented team like Efes to 40% shooting, a team that hit 75% of its two-point shots in Game 3, is excellent team defense from our side. I think my guys deserved this victory. For me, it is always important the way we play. I believe we played a very solid game, a perfect game. We didn't lose control of the game at any time. As we did many times this season, we played good defense. If we are focused, basketball is always a team sport in which players execute the coach's decisions. We have learned a lot from our last game. We had to win our one-on-one matchups on defense, and then on offense. This is how we played in some important games this season and how we played tonight. I hope that in Game 5 in Istanbul, we will play with this attitude and play smart, taking good decisions, helping each other out. We played really, really well on defense."

"The game went like we expected. It was a tough game. We came back to this series thanks to our excellent defense. Not only that, but in every moment, we played basketball without emotions. We controlled our offense, made good decisions. Let's go now to Istanbul and see who will go to the Final Four!"

Players

HANGA, ADAM
FC Barcelona Lassa
"We won our last game in Istanbul. Now, it is Game 5 and anything can happen. We are really looking forward to going back to Istanbul, eat a little bit of baclava and play. We have to play as if every possession was the last one. We have to play with a lot of pride because we worked hard all season to be in this situation, in a game like this. We have to play like we did today: be patient on offense and play together, play physical. If we play that way, we can win the game."
KURIC, KYLE
FC Barcelona Lassa
"It was a very, very good game. We had to bounce back after the last game here, keep fighting and show them we are not done yet. We have one more tough game – we have to go back to Istanbul and be ready. I just wanted to be more aggressive than in the first game and the last game. I just wanted to help my team win by being aggressive and attacking and playing with energy."
CLAVER, VICTOR
FC Barcelona Lassa
"We had to believe in our chances. We played at home and it was our last EuroLeague game of the season here in Barcelona, so we had to give everything. I think everybody contributed to a great win. Now, we will see what happens in the fifth one. We built our game from our defense. We protected our paint. We let them shoot some threes; especially in the beginning of the game, they made some of them. But we played defense, ran and played our way, unlike in Game 3."
PLEISS, TIBOR
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
"Of course, we expected the game to go in a different way, but it was out fault. In the beginning of the third quarter, when we came back from our locker rooms, Barcelona played more aggressive than us, scored easy points and won that quarter by 13 points. It was really painful from our side but now we have to win Game 5 in Istanbul and play better. If we play better, we can do it."
MICIC, VASILIJE
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
"It was a tough game, as we expected. They let it all out. We didn't respond so well in the second half. Also, they did what was expected, because we know how they played through the season. We have to be ready for the next game and give our best."