Turkish basketball giant Anadolu Efes continued its positive momentum by defeating Olympiacos Piraeus 76-53 in the THY EuroLeague Round 25 match at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall on Thursday.
The Istanbul side, which has cinched six of its last seven games, improved to 14-10 in the standings while Olympiacos dropped to 11-14 and is now on a five-game losing streak, according to the EuroLeague’s official website.
Efes’ Shane Larkin led the winners with 21 points and five assists, Bryant Dunston added 15 points and Rodrigue Beaubois had 11 for Efes.
Giannoulis Larentzakis scored 10 points and made eight assists for Olympiacos, who led 11-26 after 10 minutes.
Larkin and Beaubois stepped up for Efes, leading a 24-2 run that gave their team a 43-34 edge at halftime. The hosts boosted their margin to 58-43 after three quarters and cruised the rest of the way.
However, Shaquielle McKissic got Olympiacos going with a fast-break layup that Vasilije Micic bettered with a 3-pointer. Larentzakis followed a layup with a triple. He got help from Sasha Vezenkov and Octavius Ellis to give Olympiacos a 5-12 lead.
Dunston and Adrien Moerman stepped up for Efes, but McKissic and Hassan Martin boosted the Reds' lead to 9-18. Larentzakis and Kostas Sloukas each struck from downtown and Martin added a layup to make it 11-26, after 10 minutes.
Beaubois followed a jumper with a floater early in the second quarter. Dunston added an alley-oop layup for a 17-28 Efes deficit.
Larkin then came to Efes’ rescue with a triple, a driving layup and a wild four-point play, bringing his team within 26-28. Larentzakis buried an off-balance jumper, but Larkin and James Anderson completed the hosts' comeback, 32-30.
Beaubois took over with an alley-oop slam and a corner 3-pointer that capped a 24-2 run. Dunston and Anderson each scored around the basket, but Charles Jenkins and Vezenkov kept Olympiacos within 43-34 at halftime.
Larkin and Beaubois kept pushing Efes after the break and Dunston's off-balance 3-point play gave the hosts a 50-37 margin.
Micic and Larkin each struck from beyond the arc to break the game open, 56-38. Jenkins hit a jumper and Vassilis Spanoulis added a triple to bring Olympiacos a bit closer, 58-43, after 30 minutes.
Krunoslav Simon joined the 3-point shootout early in the fourth quarter and Dunston scored down low to make it a 20-point game.
Livio Jean-Charles tried to change things with a corner triple but didn't find much help. Larkin and Moerman helped Efes seal the outcome, 69-47, midway through the fourth quarter.