Efes swamps Monaco, 98-77, for third straight

Anadolu Efes Istanbul confirmed its good momentum by downing AS Monaco 98-77 at home in Sinan Erdem Sports Hall on Friday. Both teams now have 5-6 records in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season standings. Rodrigue Beaubois led the winners with 17 points. Shane Larkin and Adrien Moerman each added 14, Tibor Pleiss 12 and Filip Petrusev 10 for Efes. Donatas Motiejunas led Monaco with 21 points. Paris Lee added 18 and Dwayne Bacon 12. Pleiss and Beaubois pushed Efes to an early, double-digit lead, 20-9. Donta Hall and Lee allowed Monaco to cut its deficit to 24-20 after 10 minutes. Beaubois kept pacing Efes, getting plenty of help from Moerman and Bryant Dunston to break the game open, 58-40, at halftime. Lee helped Monaco to get as close as 60-54 soon after the break but Krunoslav Simon and Larkin restored a 73-61 margin for Efes after 30 minutes. Nothing changed in the fourth quarter as Efes kept a safe lead until the final buzzer.

Pleiss followed a jumper with a couple of layups to get Efes going. Beaubois soon struck from downtown for a 9-2 lead. Motiejunas hit a jump-hook and Alpha Diallo dunked for Monaco. Beaubois scored off a steal and followed Pleiss's dunk with a driving layup to boost Efes's lead to 15-6. Motiejunas hit a triple but Elijah Bryant banked in a floater and Pleiss added a tip-in to make it a double-digit game, 19-9. Hall took over with an alley-oop slam, getting help from Lee to bring Monaco within 20-14. Larkin and Petrusev stepped up for Efes but Brock Motum and Lee each hit a shot from beyond the arc for a 24-20 score after 10 minutes.

Bacon and Moerman traded baskets early in the second quarter and Vasilije Micic scored in penetration for a 28-22 Efes lead. Beaubois hit a corner triple and Petrusev followed a layup with a jump hook but Mike James and Bacon kept Monaco within 33-28. Micic took over with a driving layup, Motejiunas and Beaubois exchanged three-pointers and Dunston scored in transition to make Monaco call timeout at 43-31. Moerman struck twice from downtown and Bryant Dunston helped break the game open, 51-34. Moutejiunas kept pacing Monaco but Beaubois buried a floater and Simon struck from beyond the arc for a 58-40 Efes margin at halftime.

Lee scored around the basket soon after the break. Diallo added a layup and Hall added a jumper to give Monaco hope at 60-46. Lee hit twice from beyond the arc and Motum added a floater, bringing the guests as close as 60-54. Larkin stepped up with a driving layup and Simon added a running hook, as Efes improved its defense. Beaubois buried a jumper and Larkin capped a 9-0 run with a triple that restored a 69-54 Efes lead. Lee stepped up with a layuup, Ibrahima Faye added a put-back basket and Bacon followed that with a three-point play but Simon and Petrusev gave Efes a 73-61 lead after 30 minutes.

Fall dunked early in the fourth quarter, Motejiunas added a put-back layup and James buried a floater to force an Efes timeout at 73-67. Larkin punished the guests' zone defense with a three-pointer and Simon also struck from beyond the arc to give Efes fresh air at 81-70. Motiejiunas followed a three-pointer with a put-back jump hook but Chris Singleton answered with a triple. Micic took over with a driving layup and Larkin added a triple that sealed the outcome, 89-75, with over 3 minutes left. Monaco kept trying but Efes had already cruised to a well-deserved win.

Efes: First-half perfection

Anadolu Efes Istanbul was close to setting a club record for most points in a first half in its Round 11 game against AS Monaco. Indeed, Efes had an outstanding first half, hitting 18 of 24 two-pointers (75.0%) and 6 of 14 three-pointers (42.9%) while outrebounding Monaco by 33-13 and dishing as many as 17 assists against just 3 turnovers. The 58-40 score after 20 minutes included Efes's third-best scoring total before halftime in its 490 games in the competition. Its club record is 60 points against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne on January 17, 2020. Back then, Efes ended up winning 101-74 behind 29 points from Shane Larkin.

Lee bounces back in Istanbul

Paris Lee took advantage of AS Monaco's visit to Anadolu Efes Istanbul to showcase his skills. In the previous three games, Lee had averaged 1.7 points on 1-for-8 two-point (12.5%) and 1-for-12 three-point (8.3%) shooting for a PIR of 0.0. Things were different against the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague's reigning champions, though, as Lee allowed Monaco to keep its chances open until the final buzzer. He finished the game with a career-high 18 points, hitting 4 of 5 shots from downtown to go with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 fouls drawn and a PIR of 20, another personal best.

Beaubois completes sensational double-round week

Anadolu Efes Istanbul had a fantastic double-round week, downing Olympiacos Piraeus and AS Monaco at home to go up to 5-6 in the standings. Rodrigue Beaubois was at the center of it all, thrilling Efes fans with two outstanding performances. Beaubois had already been unstoppable against Olympiacos, getting 29 points on 7-for-10 three-point shooting, 5 rebounds and a PIR of 22. And of course, in basketball, when you're hot, you're hot. Beaubois carried his great scoring momentum into the game against Monaco, getting 17 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and a PIR of 24, leading Efes to a 98-77 victory.