Tarence Kinsey leads Anadolu Efes past Partizan MT:S 84-73 – Euroleague Basketball Recap
Four players reached double figures as Anadolu Efes beat Partizan MT:S 84-73 in their first game of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague season in Belgrade
Tarence Kinsey paced Efes with 18 points, three rebounds and two steals. Dusko Savanovic chipped in 17 points on 3 for 4 shooting from three-point range and pulled down three rebounds while Sasha Vujacic contributed 14 points and
two assists in the victory. Ersan Ilyasova ended with 10 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists for Efes.
Nikola Pekovic led Partizan with a game-high 21 points, six rebounds and two blocks in less than 20 minutes of action. Milan Macvan had 14 points and seven rebounds while Dragan Milosavljevic tallied 10 points in the loss.
Nikola Pekovic scored eight of his points in the first five minutes of the opening period as Partizan took a 14-13 lead. Efes however responded with five unanswered points and went ahead by 18-14. Partizan stayed in the game and
struck twice from downtown in a 12-4 run that gave them a 26-22 lead.
Sasha Vujacic downed a triple to cut the deficit to one that Danilo Andusic bettered with a pair of free throws for a 28-25 Partizan edge. However, Ersan Ilyasova scored a lay-up at the end of the quarter to make it one-point contest,
28-27.
Partizan improved at both ends of the floor in the second quarter and increased their lead to 40-33 with around five minutes to go in the first half of the game. Efes however responded swiftly and made a 15-5 burst to take a three-point
lead, 48-45, at halftime.
Anadolu back in the third period and scored the first eight points of the quarter to make it 56-45. Their domination continued and by the time the third quarter ended, Efes were comfortably placed at 68-51. Efes outscored Partizan
20-6 in the frame and that pretty much sealed the game in their favour.
Efes maintained their grip on the game and never gave Partizan a sniff of a comeback. Nikola Pekovic, the Partizan centre expressed his disappointment after the home loss;
“I am sad because we lost in front of our devoted fans. We lost to a better team, which played at high level all 40 minutes. We had problems with Anadolu Efes’s defense and that was the key of the game.”
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