Anadolu Efes evened the playoff series with Panathinaikos Athens in a close game (76:79). The visitors from Turkey erased a 12-point deficit in the final minutes. Shane Larkin ultimately sealed the victory.
Panathinaikos Athens and Anadolu Efes had already provided a real spectacle in their first encounter. The dispute between coaches Ataman and Banchi after the game further fueled the heated atmosphere.
Speaking of intense, the atmosphere in the OAKA Arena in Athens couldn’t have been better in the opening minutes. Spurred on by their frenetic fans, the Greeks got off to the better start. Thanks to two three-pointers from Jerian Grant (11) and a lay-up from Omer Yurtseven (10), the home side took an early 8-0 lead. Efes countered with a 10-1 run of its own, but the Turks’ flash in the pan quickly faded. In the second half of the quarter, the Istanbul team scored only five points, which Pana exploited to its advantage (29-17).
Not much changed in the second quarter. It was only when Dan Oturu (11) came on that the visitors brought new momentum to the game. Panathinaikos had no answer to the pick-and-roll with the big man, who sank four shots in two minutes to bring his team back to within six (40-34).
Panathinaikos 12 points ahead in the third quarter
Panathinaikos came out of the locker room as the fresher team once again. A quick 8-2 run put Efes 12 points behind. After that, the team was unable to reduce the deficit to single digits for a long time. With one minute left in the quarter, Elijah Bryant finally scored his first points – and then five in a row (55:50). However, Panathinaikos had the last word again in the form of Kostas Sloukas, who converted a wild pass while hanging in the air as the buzzer sounded (60:50).
The game was now entering its crucial phase, which both teams seemed to be aware of. The first two minutes of the final quarter saw no points for either side, before Istanbul’s Perry Dozier Jr. (14, 5/8) ended the drought with five quick points. The pendulum was now swinging back and forth, with the visitors having the advantage; Panas’ lead was now melting away steadily. And then Shane Larkin (20, 5/8) suddenly woke up. First, the guard tied the score with a drive, then he hit a clutch three-pointer to take the lead (73:76). The newly crowned EuroLeague MVP Kendrick Nunn (14, 6/17) missed the final shot to tie the game.
Anadolu Efes has thus evened the series. The third game will take place next Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. in Istanbul.
