Maccabi Tel Aviv fell to Anadolu EFES 92-78 as Shane Larkin starred for the visitors all night long to send the Yellow & Blue to their 6th straight defeat. Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s squad grabbed an early lead in the strength of Ante Zizic who was superb all game long, but once Ergin Ataman brought in his all-star guard Shane Larkin EFES took control of the game. The guard orchestrated the offense to perfection as Adrien Moerman, Krunoslav Simon and Bryant Dunston all took part in the scoring as they ran away with a 14-point victory.

Larkin scored 26 points going 6/7 from downtown along with 6 assists, Tibor Pleiss added 15 points while Elijah Bryant, Adrien Moerman and Krunsolav Simon all finished the game with 10 points a piece. Ante Zizic led the way for Maccabi with 23 points, James Nunnally added 14 points and KeenanEvans chipped in with 12 points in the win.

“We fought really hard and tried to turn things around against the European champion,” Sfairopoulos said. “We knew that our mission was not going to be easy but we started with great enthusiasm. EFES showed their quality today and it was hard for us to stay in the game and win the game although we tried very hard. I want to thank the fans from the bottom of my heart and they stayed with us until the end.”

“We didn’t start the game well and maybe it was normal because the atmosphere was so hot,” Ataman said following the victory. “Maccabi had great tempo, but when Larkin came in he played the set offense and pick and roll. We rotated the ball very well and found open shots.”

Ante Zizic opened the game by putting down an alley-pop dunk thanks to a Scottie Wilbekin ball for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Tibor Pleiss answered immediately at the other end for EFES, while Wilbekin went from deep to give the hosts a 11-6 lead midway through the first quarter. Ex-Yellow & Blue guard Elijah Bryant drove into the lane for a layup and one, Pleiss scored while Zizic once again slammed the ball home as the end to end action continued.

Adrian Moerman dialed up long distance, Derrick Williams stole the ball and went in for an uncontested jam, Bryant hit a pair of shots but Jalen Reynolds dunked as the hosts stayed in front 27-20 after ten minutes of play.

Pleiss scored an alley-oop or Ergin Ataman’s squad, Reynolds answered and Williams scored but Shane Larkin started to heat up with a quick 8 points to give EFES a 35-34 with six minutes left in the second quarter. Larkin stole the ball from James Nunnally for an easy bucket, John Dibartolomeo hit a jumper in the key, Zizic hit a turnaround baby hook shot but Krunoslav Simon and Moerman went from deep to give the visitors a 50-47 lead at halftime.

Moerman and Keenan Evans traded baskets to begin the third quarter while Pleiss continued with his hot hand, but so did Zizic at the other end. Simon hit an off balance jumper as the shot clock wound down, Bryant Dunston put down a dunk, Kameron Taylor glided in to the hoop at the other end as EFES kept their 3-point lead at 58-55 midway through the period. Zizic once again powered in points, Larkin responded with a trio of triples, Nunnally scored a pair of baskets but Vasilje Micic added points to bunk up the EFES lead to 70-63 after thirty minutes of action.

Zizic grabbed an offensive board and scored in the paint, Bryant hit a triple at the other end, Evans went from beyond the arc, but Dunston put down a dunk to hold serve at 75-68 with 6:19 remaining in the fourth quarter. Evans again found points from deep, but so did Larkin while Simon added a bucket and Dunston did as well to run away with the double digit win.