Shane Larkin, Darius Thompson and Rodrigue Beaubois were particularly impressive at Salle Gaston Medecin.
Efes's backcourt stars dismantled Monaco's defense
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Snapping the five-game winning streak of one of the most in-form Turkish Airlines EuroLeague teams on their home court was anything but an easy task for Anadolu Efes Istanbul. Yet, the Turkish side saw its three star guards – Shane Larkin, Rodrigue Beaubois and Darius Thompson – step up to inspire their team to a hard-fought 82-89 victory against AS Monaco at Salle Gaston Medecin.
Larkin produced a player-of-the-game performance and ended the contest with a season-high 25 points, having gone 6-for-8 (75.0%) from inside the arc and 4-for-9 (44.4%) from the perimeter for a game-high PIR of 25.
Impressively, the 31-year-old Larkin scored 8 of his points in the last quarter, with his last basket being an impossible buzzer-beating two-point dagger to make it 82-87 with 00:38 left on the clock. After scoring 48 points in the first half, Efes added another 41 in the second to seal its first road victory of the season.
“We really struggled in the third quarters all season, so we really put an emphasis on coming out strong in the third quarter and just staying together,” Larkin said after the game. “We got a lot of contributors today, good rebounds and buckets at the end.”
Beaubois, Thompson also stepped up
Indeed, it was not a one-man-show at Monaco on Tuesday, as Beaubois and Thompson also played a key role in their team’s win. The former finished the game with a season-high 21 points, having made 9-of-12 field goals, for a PIR of 22.
“I think our attitude was pretty good,” Beaubois noted. “We played together. We fought together. We had ups and downs but stuck together. Obviously, Shane had a great game. We were very focused from the beginning to the end and that’s what we need to do going forward.”
As for Thompson, Efes’s summer signing had 6 points heading into the closing quarter but scored half of his team’s 20 points in the last 10 minutes. When Larkin, Beaubois and Thompson were on the floor, Efes circulated the ball smoothly and found several open looks that led to easy baskets.
What’s more, it should be noted that the three guards recorded a total of 14 assists. Adding Will Clyburn, who had a quiet game, to the equation, the four Efes players registered 19 of their team’s 24 assists of the night by dishing at least 4 each.
After winning its second game in a row, Efes will look to continue its momentum by pushing for a second straight road victory, as it plays at EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in Round 9 on Thursday night.