Shane Larkin explodes for 37 points to push Efes past resilient Fenerbahce / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: REUTERS - Scanpix Credit REUTERS - Scanpix

Shane Larkin exploded from downtown as Anadolu Efes Istanbul defeated the resilient Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 103-92 (31-25, 21-25, 24-19, 27-23) to force Game 4 in the Turkish Basketball League (BSL) finals series.

Shane Larkin

MIN:31.89PTS:14.69 (55.11%)REB:2.97As:5.28ST:1.26BL:0.03TO:2.36GM:39ProfileEuroLeague2021/2022

It was a three-pointer show for Anadolu Efes with the team making 19 three-pointers, 14 of which were shared between the superstar guard duo of Larkin, who made 9 of them, and Vasilije Micic. Overall, Larkin scored 37 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists for 36 PIR, while Micic provided the team with 29 points and 7 assists for 27 PIR.

It was a hard-fought battle between the teams during the first half. Although Efes were in the lead most of the time, Fenerbahce continuously fought back. One more Larkin's three-pointer with seconds to go in the first half gave the home team a marginal 52-50 lead after the first 20 minutes.

The third quarter, at first, also belonged to Anadolu Efes as the team built themselves a 13-point lead with 5 minutes to go in the quarter. However, Fenerbahce once again fought back and narrowed the deficit to only 4 points with a minute to go in the quarter.

The story of the game was decided in the last 10 minutes of the game.

The 4th quarter started off with a Pierria Henry technical foul following a tough layup make. A minute later, Marko Guduric received an unsportsmanlike foul contesting Chris Singleton's layup - the episode that allowed Efes to score 5 points in one offensive possession following a Shane Larkin triple. Larkin added one more three-pointer during the next attack and Efes never looked back.

Although Fenerbahce tried to mount a comeback, their efforts were not successful, and the teams will have to play at least one more match in the series.

Game 4 of the BSL Finals series is scheduled for Monday, June 13th, in Ulker Sports Arena.

Anadolu Efes: Shane Larkin 37 (9/14 3PT, 8/8 FT, 5 REB, 3 AST, 36 PIR), Vasilije Micic 29 (4/7 2PT, 5/8 3PT, 6/7 FT, 7 AST, 27 PIR), Tibor Pleiss 15 (3/3 2PT, 1/3 3PT, 6/6 FT), Elijah Bryant 10 (2/6 3PT).

Fenerbahce: Pierria Henry 21 (3/3 2PT, 4/6 3PT, 3/4 FT, 4 AST), Marko Guduric 14 (4/6 3PT, 3 REB, 4 AST), Nando de Colo 13 (3/4 2PT, 2/6 3PT, 3 REB, 5 AST), Jan Vesely 12 (4/7 2PT, 4 REB), Devin Booker 11 (2/4 2PT, 2/3 3PT, 3 AST).

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