The backcourt duo stepped up for the home team in a crunch win against champs Panathinaikos
Efes leaned on Elijah Bryant, Shane Larkin in Game 4 to keep series alive
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It took a monumental team effort from Anadolu Efes Istanbul to grind out an 85-82 home win over Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens in Game 4 of their Turkish Airlines EuroLeague playoff series, with guards Elijah Bryant and Shane Larkin taking center stage.
Bryant, who had struggled from long range in the opening three games of the series and made just 3 of 14 long-range shots, went 4 of 9 from deep on Friday as he paced Efes on 19 points.
In turn, Larkin drew on his wealth of experience and garnished a mature performance with 9 points and as many assists, setting up his teammates with a barrage of open shots in the wake of aggressive defense he faced from Panathinaikos guards.
In his post-game comments, Bryant emphasized that he never lost his confidence as he fought through patchy form on offense throughout the series, having hit some crunch shots in Game 4 with the Turkish side’s survival in the series on the line.
“It’s a good win and we’ll enjoy it tonight but the job is not finished and we’ve got one more thing to do,” Bryant said. “Some days the ball goes in and some days it won’t but I’ll keep shooting regardless. I trust my teammates and they trust me.”
The versatile guard acknowledged that ball handling played a pivotal role as Efes racked up 24 assists and 10 steals against 12 turnovers, adding that he fancied his team’s chances in Game 5.
“Taking care of the ball against an explosive offensive team like this is very important and we did that today. Regarding our chances in the tiebreaker, I’ll choose us any day, we are ready to go there and bring it back to Istanbul.”
Larkin, who was instrumental in helping Efes to consecutive EuroLeague titles in 2021 and 2022, hailed a concerted team effort which limited the visiting team’s star player Kendrick Nunn to a mere 12 points on 3 of 12 shooting from the floor.
Nunn, who enjoyed a flawless Game 3 after enduring a torrid time in the opening two contests of the knife-edged series, was scoreless from the floor in the first half when he managed only three points from the foul line.
“Everybody contributed and gave minutes, fought with everything they had and we protected our home court to give ourselves the chance to go back to Athens and reach the Final Four,” said Larkin.
“They tried to prevent me from shooting my pull-ups so I focused on kicking it out to my guys and making the assists. They were able to knock down some shots so kudos to the team,” he added.
Although Panathinaikos won the battle of the boards 41-28, the Greens were undone by 16 turnovers as well by poor shooting from inside as they netted a modest 19 of 40. In addition, thy were stunned by the x-factor impact of Efes role players Rolands Smits and Ercan Osmani, who combined for 29 points.
The home team’s head coach Luca Banchi praised his men’s valiant defense and focus in the face of adversity, as defeat would have clinched the series for Panathinaikos and sent the defending champs through to the May 23-25 Final Four in Abu Dhabi.
“I am so proud of the guys as they never lost focus although we had our backs against the wall,” the Italian tactician said. “Once again it was a one-possession difference between the two teams and the fans deserve to see Game 5. This win came as a result of our defensive effort and intensity, while taking care of the ball was also very important.”