Larkin, Efes soar to beat Bayern 104-75

Shane Larkin made history and Anadolu Efes Istanbul clicked on all cylinders as it destroyed FC Bayern Munich 104-75 on Friday night at home at Sinan Erdem Dome. Larkin shattered the EuroLeague's all-time single-game scoring record with 49 points and tied the mark for three-pointers by making 10 to lead Efes to its fifth consecutive win and a league-best 9-2 record. Efes was ahead from the opening tipoff, had a 17-point lead at halftime, and kept a double-digit lead for most of the second half before closing the game strong for a 29-point win. Larkin needed just 31 minutes on the floor to net 49 points, making 5 of 7 two-pointers, 10 of 12 three-pointers and 9 of 10 free throws. He also dished 5 assists for a performance index rating of 53, which ranks fifth all-time. Big man Sertac Sanli had a career-high 17 points, while Tibor Pleiss and Chris Singleton scored 10 apiece for Efes. Vladimir Lucic paced the visitors with 20 points and Danilo Barthel scored 11 for Bayern, whose record dropped to 4-7.

Larkin started with a pair of triples and a pair of assists for Pleiss to open 10-2 lead. DeMarcus Nelson hit from downtown for the visitors and also had a jumper, but Singleton hit 2 three-pointers to open a 20-11 Efes lead. Larkin connected twice more from long range, but Bayern kept up offensively as Paul Zipser had a three-point play. Alex King and Mathias Lessort scored inside late in the first, and Zipser and Maodo Lo each had a three-pointer to get Bayern within 35-30 early in the second quarter. Larkin snapped an 0-8 Bayern run with his fifth three-pointer, and his sixth extended the difference to 47-34. Barthel answered with a basket-plus-free throw but Singleton knocked down a triple to help make it 57-40 at halftime. Greg Monroe and Barthel fueled a 0-8 run that got Bayern within 59-50 in the third quarter, but that is when Larkin got hot again, scoring 11 consecutive points, including a pair of driving layups and a three-pointer to extend the margin to 70-56. Put-backs from Krunoslav Simon and Sanli made it 76-58 going into the fourth. Lucic had a three-point play, and Petteri Koponen nailed a triple, but Larkin and James Anderson sparked Efes to an 84-64 advantage. Efes cruised to win, but Larkin was not done. He scored a jumper to reach 38 points with 6:50 to go, and after a brief rest on the bench, poured in 11 more points, including 3 three-pointers in the final 2:40 of the game, to enter the record books.

Shane Larkin show

Larkin made his first start since Round 6, and had his fingertips on his team's first 10 points. He scored 14 points in the first quarter and had 25 at halftime. Larkin added 11 more points in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth to exceed the scoring of any previous EuroLeague player in a single game.

Unstoppable first half

Efes was humming offensively behind Larkin, especially in the first half. In the first two quarters, Efes made 10 of 12 two-point shots, 9 of 14 from long range, and 10 of 12 free throws. Despite only a handful of missed shots, Efes still managed to pull down 4 offensive boards. It all led to 57 first-half points and a 17-point halftime margin.

Best start in 15 years

With its fifth straight win Efes improved to a 9-2 record, its best since 2004-05 season, when it won 13 of its first 15 games.

Big man comes up big

In the absence of starting center Bryant Dunston, it was big man Sertac Sanli stepping up once again. Sanli scored 17 points on 7-for-8 two-point shooting, and also had 2 blocks and 2 rebounds.

Next up

Next week in Round 12 both teams will be on the road. Bayern visits Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv on Thursday, and Efes travels to play KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz on Friday.