Real Madrid outlasted host Anadolu Efes Istanbul to claim its sixth consecutive win with a hard-fought 65-73 decision on Tuesday night.
Real hangs tough to overcome Efes
Game Report
1 Min read
Real Madrid outlasted host Anadolu Efes Istanbul to claim its sixth consecutive win with a hard-fought 65-73 decision on Tuesday night. Both defenses dominated a closely contested first half that ended with Efes leading 37-31. Real edged ahead in the third quarter and the game remained extremely close in the fourth until the visitors pulled away in the final minute behind a pair of three-pointers from Jaycee Carroll. Fabien Causeur paced Real with 15 points, while Trey Thompkins added 13 and Nicolas Laprovittola combined 10 points with 6 assists. Vasilije Micic was Efes's only double-digit scorer, netting 16 points.
Shane Larkin downed the game's first 5 points off a steal-and-score followed by a three-point play, while Thompkins netted Real's first basket with a layup. Krunoslav Simon and Bryant Dunston extended Efes's lead, but Causeur in transition and Thompkins from deep brought Real back, 9-8. Adrien Moerman and Causeur traded triples before Micic added a layup-and-one for Efes. Chris Singleton came off the bench to strike from deep for a 20-13 Efes lead, which is how it stayed until the end of the first quarter. Micic's floater opened the second quarter scoring, but Laprovittola responded with a mid-range strike and a deep three to reignite Real, 24-18. Sertac Sanli and Micic protected Efes's lead, but Laprovittola netted another triple to keep it close. Simon and Rudy Fernandez struck from long-range before Dunston stretched the Efes advantage to 34-26. Thompkins scored under the basket and Fernandez buried another triple, but free throws from Singleton and Micic made it 37-31 at the break.
After Sanli and Abalde scored 4 points each early in the third quarter, a tip-in by Jeffery Taylor made it 41-39. Soon, Taylor netted from deep, Tavares scored at the rim and Sergio Llull landed a transition three-pointer for Real's first lead, 45-47. Thompkins added another triple to complete a 0-11 Real run that Rodrigue Beaubois ended from deep for Efes, then immediately added another to send his team back in front, although Laprovittola's free throws made it 51-52 for Real after three quarters. Beaubois and Thompkins traded triples before Moerman also hit from deep and Larkin dived inside to give Efes a 59-55 lead. Causeur and Fernandez answered with a three-pointer each to flip the lead again, 59-61. Causeur converted inside to complete a 0-8 Real run that Dunston ended with a sharp inside move and layup before Micic scored in penetration for a 63-63 tie with 90 seconds left. Causeur sent Real back in front and then Jaycee Carroll blasted a three-pointer made it 63-68. Moerman's floater was answered by another Carroll strike from beyond the arc, securing the outcome for Real with 17 seconds remaining.
Game Leaders
Three-pointers make the difference
A big difference in three-point accuracy was one of the keys to Real's win. Efes made just 7 of 31 long-range attempts (22.6%), while Real hit 14 of 35 from deep (40%) including a pair of crucial ones from Jaycee Carroll in the last minute.
Larkin starts hot but fades
Shane Larkin netted the first 5 points of the game but then missed 6 consecutive field goal attempts and didn't score again until 6 minutes remained. He ended up with just 7 points, missing all 6 of his three-point shots.
Tavares contributes despite scoring problems
After registering double-doubles in his previous four games, Real's influential big man Walter Tavares was restricted to 4 points. But he still had a big impact, grabbing 9 rebounds and blocking 2 shots.
Block party
Both teams protected their rims with intensity and the game yielded no less than 9 blocked shots. Efes had 4 from different players, while Rudy Fernandez and Walter Tavares made 2 blocks apiece in Real's total of 5.