Jacobsen lifts Bamberg past Efes with game-winning triple

In a great showdown that went down to the wire, Brose Baskets Bamberg improved to 2-1 in Group B by edging previously undefeated Anadolu Efes Istanbul 88-86 at home on Friday. Casey Jacobsen paced the winners with 23 points on 7-of-10 three-point shooting, including one that won it for Bamberg with 1.3 seconds remaining. Anton Gavel added 17 points, Jamar Smith scored 14 and John Goldsberry dished 8 assists for Bamberg. Dusko Savanovic led Efes with 17 points. Jamon Gordon and Scotty Hopson each scored 14 and Semih Erden recorded 7 blocks, the most by any player in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague since 2008. Jacobsen hit three early triples to give Bamberg a double-digit lead, 16-6. Zoran Planinic and Gordon, however, allowed Efes to move ahead a 23-24 after 10 minutes. Efes kept finding good options on offense - 15-of-21 two-point shots, 5-of-7 three-pointers before halftime -, as Savanovic, Hopson and Stanko Barac helped the guests take a 44-51 lead at the break. Efes extended its margin to 52-66 midway through the third quarter, but Bamberg was not done. Back-to-back three-pointers by Jacobsen ignited a 20-2 run that Smith capped with a close basket for a 70-66 Bamberg lead with nine minutes to go. Bamberg extended its margin to 84-77, but Kostas Vasileiadis singlehandedly brought Efes back to life. It all came down to the final minute. A jumper by Gordon gave Efes an 85-86 lead with 6.8 seconds left. Bamberg called timeout and Jacobsen rounded out his near-perfect game with the game-winning shot in the next-to-last second.

First quarter: Gordon, Planinic put Efes ahead

Damir Markota got Bamberg going with a four-meter jumper that Planinic erased with a big basket in the low post. Casey Jacobsen hit a running triple. After Erden dunked, a baseline jumper by Goldsberry gave the hosts a 7-4 lead. Scotty Hopson swished a mid-range shot, which Anton Gavel bettered with a bomb from downtown. A red-hot Jacobsen hit another three-pointer, and then another one to boost his team's lead to double digits, 16-6, after a 9-0 run. Gordon scored around the basket off a timeout and a coast-to-coast layup by Savanovic brought Efes a bit closer, 16-10. Erden stepped up with a second-chance layup. Gordon scored again and a three-pointer by Planinic allowed Efes to get its first lead, 16-17, after an 0-11 run. Smith sank a jumper and exchanged triples with Birkan Batuk. Savanovic made free throws and Gordon copied him right after that, before Zack Wright brought the hosts within 23-24 after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Visitors roll thanks to terrific offense

Batuk pushed Efes with a driving basket early in the second quarter. Philipp Neumann scored around the basket, but Barac erased that with his trademark mid-range jumper. Smith downed a three-pointer in transition and soon added free throws to put Bamberg back ahead, 30-28. Hopson returned to the floor and immediately delivered with a layup which Barac followed with a jumper for a 30-32 Efes edge. Vasileiadis and Gavel traded triples before Barac split foul shots and Jacobsen struck from downtown to allow Bamberg to regain the lead, 36-35. Tadija Dragicevic joined the three-point shootout and a dunk by Maik Zirbes tied it, 38-38. Planinic split foul shots, Barac dunked and a three-pointer by Savanovic caused Bamberg to call timeout at 38-44. Vasileiadis fed Hopson for a big slam that Zirbes matched with a put-back basket. Hopson swished a turnaround jumper, but Wright followed a one-handed floater with free throws. Savanovic downed another three-pointer that fixed the halftime score at 44-51.

Third quarter: Great comeback by Bamberg

Erden scored down low immediately after the break and another three-pointer by Savanovic gave Efes its first double-digit lead, 44-56. Gavel quickly answered from downtown, but Gordon nailed a six-meter shot for a 47-58 score. Sharrod Ford split free throws, Gordon and Neumann traded layups and Savanovic banked in a running shot to cause Bamberg to call timeout at 50-62. Hopson nailed a six-meter jumper and matched Ford's two-handed dunk with another mid-range shot, good for a 52-66 Efes lead. Jacobsen beat the shot clock with a wild, seven-meter bomb and Ford got the crowd involved with a high-flying block on Savanovic. Smith nailed a long jumper and Jacobsen struck from downtown to bring Bamberg back to life, 60-66. Ford scored down low to cap a 10-0 run, as Dragicevic stepped up with a driving basket. Jacobsen sank free throws and jumper by Rakim Sanders made it a two-point game, 66-68. Ford scored again and free throws by Wright completed Bamberg's comeback, 70-68, at the end of the third quarter.

Fourth quarter: It comes down to the last shot

Smith capped a wild 20-2 run with a close basket early in the fourth quarter, good for a 72-68 Bamberg lead. Efes had been scoreless for more than four minutes until Hopson stepped up with free throws. Savanovic soon tied the game, 72-72, with seven minutes left. Zirbes scored around the basket, but Gordon found space for an uncontested layup. Gavel hit a stop-and-pop jumper in the lane, Erden split free throws and Planinic put Efes back ahead, 76-77, with over four minutes left. Gavel finished a three-chance Bamberg offense with 3-of-3 free throws and soon added a critical three-pointer that forced Efes to stop the game at 82-77. Bamberg kept powering the offensive boards and a jumper by Zirbes made it a 7-point game. Efes found a go-to guy in Vasileiadis, who made 4 free throws and struck from downtown to tie the game, 84-84, with 1:18 left. Zirbes split foul shots, Gordon missed a jumper, but collected a steal that allowed Efes to get the ball back with 20 seconds to go. Gordon downed an off-balance shot with 6.8 seconds remaining, but Bamberg called timeout and Jacobsen buried the game-winning shot with 1.3 seconds to go. Hopson missed a desperation shot from way downtown, allowing the Bamberg fans to celebrate a big win.