Anadolu Efes rolls to road win at Limoges

Anadolu Efes Istanbul led from start to finish, hitting 15 three-pointers - including its first 6 of the night - in a 77-89 road victory over Limoges CSP on Friday night. Six of those threes belong to Jon Diebler, while Thomas Heurtel dished 15 assists, which tied him for the second most in competition history. The Euroleague record of 17 was set least season by Marcus Williams for Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade. Efes opened the game with a 7-25 lead and held it comfortably the entire night, hitting timely threes and getting valuable points inside from Alex Tyus, Bryant Dunston and Derrick Brown. Limoges, led by Heiko Schaffartzik, never came closer than 8 points the entire contest. Diebler netted 21 points, Birkan Batuk and Dario Saric each had 11, while Tyus, Dunston and Heurtel each scored 10 in victory. Schaffartzik had 20 points on 4-for-5 three-point shooting for the hosts, and he dished 5 assists. Nobel Boungou-Colo and Ali Traore finished the game with 12 points apiece for Limoges.

First quarter: Efes hits 7 triples in opening 10 minutes

Efes opened the game with Dunston banking a shot, before a barrage from downtown followed. Diebler started it with a corner triple, and Saric followed with a three-pointer that opened a 0-8 lead after only 2 minutes. Will Daniels opened account for Limoges, but Saric bettered that with a three-point play. Boungou-Colo scored from close range for the hosts, but Diebler hit his second shot from long range. Schaffartzik nailed a triple for Limoges to make it 7-14, but Saric, Heurtel and Batuk hit back-to-back-to-back for a 16-point lead after only 6 minutes. Most of them assisted by Heurtel, who himself added layup to extend the run to 0-11, and make it 7-25. A Boungou-Colo triple got the Limoges offense going, and Leo Westerman finished a fastbreak with a dunk to cut it to 14-25, forcing visiting coach Dusan Ivkovic to call a timeout. Westerman hit a triple to cap a 10-0 run, and cut the gap into single digits, but Brown answered with a big baseline slam, and a third triple from Diebler made it 17-30 after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Limoges fights back, but Tyus keeps visitors ahead

Alex Tyus scored inside, and Limoges ran a perfect fast break that Mark Payne finished with a dunk. Tyus scored again inside, and after Schaffartzik hit one from the distance, Tyus elevated for a monster dunk in the lane that made it 22-36. After Randy Culpepper and Heurtel traded threes, Daniels scored from close range against Saric. But Brown hit a baseline jumper, then added a basket from close range. Limoges answered through Schaffartizk, who made a sweet fade-away shot, and Culpepper scored on another fastbreak for the hosts, 31-43. After Tyus was successful once again inside, Traore had a pair of baskets and Boungou-Colo cut it to 37-45. But Tyus scored his 10th point of the quarter, a dunk assisted by Diebler, to give Efes a 37-47 halftime lead.

Third quarter: Efes and Diebler keep lead safe

Saric and Daniels traded baseline jumpers to start the second half. Heurtel fed Dunston for a layup before Diebler nailed his fourth three of the night, 39-54. Traore found a way to score from close range, but Batuk picked up Diebler’s air-ball for a layup. Heurtel’s free throws extended it to 41-58 with six minutes left in the quarter. Boungou-Colo scored a layup, but Diebler nailed a corner triple. Traore scored foul shots, and Daniels finished a breakaway with a layup, but Diebler’s sixth three-pointer made it 47-64. Two free throws and a driving layup from Schaffartzik got Limoges closer, and Culpepper knocked down a pull up jumper in transition to cut the deficit to 53-64. After a timeout, Batuk buried a triple, a 12th three on 17 attempts for Efes, but Schaffartzik hit one on the other end before the quarter’s end, making it 56-68 .

Fourth quarter: Limoges threatens one last time

Payne drove to the hoop , and Frejus Zerbo was left alone in the paint to cut the score to 60-68. But Heurtel dished to Dunston, who answered with a dunk for Efes, and Granger hit a triple for 60-73, forcing the hosts to call a timeout. Efes kept the hosts without a basket for almost three minutes, and Brown’s put-back made it a 15-point affair. Westermann and Batuk traded threes, and Dunston made a tough basket in a crowd for a 63-80 advantage with 5:01 left on the clock. After a Limoges timeout, Traore and Payne converted from inside, and following an Efes timeout, Boungou-Colo buried a three. Then Payne’s foul shots made it 72-80. But Dunston inside and Granger outside quickly made it 72-87 and sealed the deal. Before game’s end, Traore and Schaffartzik cut the deficit, but the game was long decided.