Anadolu Efes Istanbul held off a feisty Real Madrid squad to clinch a spot at the 2021 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Cologne, Germany.

Efes edges Real to take series and ticket to Cologne

Anadolu Efes Istanbul held off a feisty Real Madrid squad to clinch a spot at the 2021 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Cologne, Germany. Efes won 88-83 on Tuesday at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall to take their best-of-five EuroLeague Playoffs series 3-2. The game was not decided until the final minute and featured six lead changes and five ties in the fourth quarter alone. Krunoslav Simon broke an 80-80 tie with a desperation three-pointer with 38.6 seconds remaining and after Sergio Llull missed from downtown on the next possession, Chris Singleton gathered the rebound, was fouled and made 2 free throws to all but clinch the victory. Singleton tied his career-high with 26 points and added 8 rebounds, Vasilije Micic scored 18 and dished 5 assists, Simon finished with 17 points and Shane Larkin scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter. Nicolas Laprovittola led the Real attack with 17 points, Trey Thompkins added 12 points and Jaycee Carroll and Llull scored 10 each.



Singleton, in his 200th career EuroLeague appearance, scored on Efes's first two possessions and Real's starting backcourt of Carlos Alocen and Carroll matched him. Efes had little trouble with Real's zone defense and a slam by Bryant Dunston made it 10-6. Threes by Alocen and Alberto Abalde helped Real to its first lead and an Alex Tyus slam made it 14-17. Walter Tavares came on for the first time since Game 1 and promptly grabbed a rebound on both ends, drew a foul and made free throws for an 18-21 edge after 10 minutes. Laprovittola and Singleton traded threes early in the second quarter. Then Rudy Fernandez and Simon did the same. A three by Micic gave the hosts a 29-27 edge. Thompkins heated up with a three-point play and a three-pointer as the visitors regained the lead 31-33. After Simon tied it, Llull beat the shot clock with a triple and Laprovittola added a three-point play to make it 33-39. After a three by Micic, Tavares's put-back gave Real a 36-41 halftime lead.



Catch up on Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Real Madrid highlights from Quarter-finals of the 2020/21 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, May 4, 2021

Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Real Madrid Highlights

A three by Simon and free throws by Micic tied the game a little over a minute into the second half. After a three-point play by Carroll, Efes made its move. Micic and Rodrigue Beaubois each drained threes and Sertac Sanli scored twice in a 14-0 run that made it 55-44. Back-to-back threes by Thompkins got Real right back in it at 57-53. After a timeout, Singleton struck from deep, however free throws by Llull and Tavares trimmed the gap to 60-57 at the end of the third quarter. A three by Laprovittola and a dunk by Garuba tied the score at 62-62. Singleton and Shane Larkin made threes on consecutive possessions, but Garuba's put-back kept Real close and a three by Fernandez made it 68-69. Tibor Pleiss countered with a triple only to see Laprovittola end a three-chance Real possession with a three. The lead changed hands twice more on Larkin's free throws and Laprovittola's fifth three of the game. A hook shot by Pleiss tied it at 75-75 with 3 minutes to go. Larkin sent Efes ahead with a long three that prompted a Real timeout. Abalde's three from the top of the key tied it again. Simon beat the shot clock with a deep three with 38.6 remaining for an 83-80 advantage. Llull missed a three with 15 seconds left and Singleton hit a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game and all but wrap up the game and series.



# Lineup changes
Efes used a different look from the start to attack the Real defenses with James Anderson and Chris Singleton starting for the first time all series, while Sertac Sanli, Krunoslav Simon and Adrien Moerman came off the bench for the first time. Real used the same starting lineup from its Game 4 victory: Carlos Alocen, Jaycee Carroll, Alberto Abalde, Usman Garuba and Alex Tyus.

# Pivotal performer
Chris Singleton made his only start in the series and the 200th appearance of his EuroLeague career one to remember with one of his best-ever performances. Singleton tied a career-best with 26 points scored and set a career-high with a performance index rating of 38. He hardly left the floor, playing a game-high 37:25 minutes, and made 5 of 7 two-pointers, all 3 of his three-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws. Singleton also collected 8 rebounds, 1 steals and 1 block.

# Pleiss production
Tibor Pleiss played sparingly in the first three games of the series and did not appear at all in Game 4. The big man came up aces in the fourth quarter when he played 9:22 minutes. Pleiss hit a go-ahead three-pointer and a game-tying hook on his only 2 shots of the game. He also made life difficult for Real's star center Walter Tavares.

# Telling numbers
Efes's outstanding three-point shooting made the difference in such a close game. The hosts knocked down 14 of 29 triples (48.3%), including 5 of 8 in the fourth quarter. Real also made 14 threes, but needed 38 shots (36.8%) to do so.

# A Dunston milestone
Bryant Dunston grabbed 2 offensive rebounds to snap a tie with Nikola Milutinov of CSKA Moscow and move into sole possession of seventh place in EuroLeague history with 466 career offensive rebounds. Jan Vesely of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul is sixth with 477.

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The game was not decided until the final minute and featured six lead changes and five ties in the fourth quarter alone. Chris Singleton tied his career-high with 26 points and added 8 rebounds and Vasilije Micic scored 18 and dished 5 assists for the winners. 

Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Real Madrid (2021-05-04T16:45:00.000Z)

FC Barcelona advanced to the 2021 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four after routing Zenit St Petersburg 79-53 at Palau Blaugrana

FC Barcelona advanced to the 2021 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four after routing Zenit St Petersburg 79-53 at Palau Blaugrana on Tuesday. After splitting the first four games of the best-of-five series, Barcelona dominated Game 5 and punched its ticket to the Final Four for the first time in seven years. Cory Higgins led the winners with 15 points, Nick Calathes added 12 and Brandon Davies and Kyle Kuric each scored 11 for Barcelona. Alex Poythress led Zenit with 11 points and Kevin Pangos dished 10 assists in defeat. Davies and Pau Gasol helped Barcelona to a 23-14 lead after 10 minutes. Kuric and Leandro Bolmaro boosted the margin to 43-30 at halftime and little changed after the break, as Barcelona boosted its margin to 57-39 at the end of the third quarter and had plenty of time to celebrate a historic win.




Higgins hit a jumper and Davies added a layup to give Barcelona its first lead, 4-2. Pangos scored in penetration, found Tarik Black for a layup, and struck from downtown for a 6-9 Zenit edge. Calathes downed a corner triple and Gasol scored down low in a 9-0 run that gave Barcelona a 15-9 cushion. Poythress scored in the paint, but Adam Hanga answered with a put-back basket and Higgins hit a jumper to make it 19-11. Poythress dunked, but Davies scored twice in the paint to fix the score at 23-14 after 10 minutes. Bolmaro erased Pangos's floater with a huge dunk in traffic and soon struck from beyond the arc, prompting Zenit to stop the game at 28-16. Kuric downed a three-pointer and Calathes added a close basket to break the game open at 33-18. Gasol bettered Andrey Zubkov's jump hook with a three-point play, but Billy Baron answered from downtown to bring the visitors within 36-23. Poythress dunked again, but an outstanding Kuric kept Barcelona in control, 41-25. Will Thomas and Poythress managed to bring Zenit closer, 43-30, at halftime.

Catch up on FC Barcelona v Zenit St Petersburg highlights from Quarter-finals of the 2020/21 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, May 4, 2021

FC Barcelona v Zenit St Petersburg Highlights

Gasol and Thomas traded mid-range jumpers after the break, then Poythress's jump hook got the visitors within 45-34. Calathes hit back-to-back jumpers and struck from downtown in a 12-0 run that Kuric capped with a three-pointer for a 57-34 Barcelona lead. Vitaly Fridzon buried a jumper and Baron sank a three-pointer, bringing the visitors within 57-39 after 30 minutes. Victor Claver scored his first points early in the fourth quarter and Higgins added a driving layup for a 61-39 Barcelona lead. Fridzon scored again and Thomas buried a triple to give Zenit hope, 61-44, with over 7 minutes left. Higgins answered from beyond the arc, as Barcelona started to run the game clock down. Zenit kept struggling to score against Barcelona's outstanding defense and Davies sank a mid-range jumper to seal the outcome, 69-46, with 4 minutes remaining.

# Pivotal performer
Pau Gasol played his best EuroLeague game since he returned to Barcelona and did it in the most decisive moment. He finished the game with 7 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals for a PIR of 16. Gasol also had 4 blocks, matching the club's playoff record that Gregor Fucka set against Real Madrid on April 4, 2006.

# Game-changing moment
Zenit trailed 23-16 early in the second quarter when Barcelona turned to new go-to guys on offense. Leandro Bolmaro followed an outstanding dunk in traffic with a three-pointer. Kyle Kuric also struck from downtown and Nick Calathes scored in the paint for a 33-18 Barcelona margin. The hosts never looked back after that.

# Stellar stat
Barcelona finished the game with 9 blocks, matching the club's playoff record. Barcelona previously had 9 blocks against Real Madrid on April 4, 2006. It tied the second-best mark ever in playoff history; Real also had 9 blocks against Maccabi Tel Aviv on April 12, 2013. Fortitudo Bologna had 11 blocks against Cibona Zagreb on February 8, 2001; Stojan Vrankovic had 10 of those, which is still a EuroLeague's record.

# Did you know?
Barcelona has made it to its 15th Final Four and its first since 2014. Since the format was adopted in 1988, Barcelona had never gone this long without a Final Four appearance. Its biggest gap had been three years. Only CSKA Moscow (19) has more Final Four appearances.

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Barcelona dominated Game 5 and punched its ticket to the Final Four for the first time in seven years. Cory Higgins led the winners with 15 points and Nick Calathes added 12.

Barcelona KO's Zenit, secures return to Final Four

FC Barcelona v Zenit St Petersburg (2021-05-04T19:00:00.000Z)

AX Armani Exchange Milan narrowly avoided a massive collapse in ending a nearly three-decade wait by defeating FC Bayern Munich 92-89 at home in Game 5 to reach the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four. 

Milan avoids collapse, ends Final Four drought

AX Armani Exchange Milan narrowly avoided a massive collapse in ending a nearly three-decade wait by defeating FC Bayern Munich 92-89 at home in Game 5 to reach the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four. Shavon Shields poured in a career-high 34 points to lead the three-time European champion, which last played in the Final Four in 1992. Milan led by as many as 17 points and was still up 12 points with 78 seconds left in the game. But through a series full of amazing comebacks, Bayern did not give up and had possession of the ball down just 2 points in the final 14 seconds until Kyle Hines came up with a big defensive stop for Milan - to go along with his 12 points and 7 rebounds. Malcolm Delaney added 16 points as Milan avoided becoming the first team in EuroLeague history to lose a playoff series after winning the first two games. Bayern was paced by Jalen Reynolds with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Wade Baldwin IV had 17 points, JaJuan Johnson scored 14, DJ Seeley 11 and Paul Zipser chipped in 10. Bayern just missed becoming the first road team to win a Game 5 in a playoffs series and the first German club to reach the EuroLeague Final Four.



Milan head coach Ettore Messina kept the same starting lineup as Game 4 with Delaney, Kevin Punter, Zach LeDay, Vladimir Micov and Kaleb Tarczewski. Bayern boss Andrea Trinchieri made one change as Reynolds came on for Leon Radosevic alongside Baldwin, Diego Flaccadori, Vladimir Lucic and Johnson. Bayern went to its big men early with Reynolds dunking on the opening possession and Johnson hitting a jumper for a 0-4 lead. LeDay hit back at the other side only to see Reynolds score again for a 2-8 Bayern lead and a Messina timeout. After Delaney got Milan going with 5 straight points, Johnson added 4 points for the visitors, who led 9-14. Shields came off the Milan bench and buried 2 three-pointers in scoring 10 points while Seeley had 4 points for Bayern, which trailed 24-22 after 10 minutes. Luigi Datome started the second quarter with a jumper and Shields continued his outstanding game with 5 more points as Milan had the first 9 points to open a 33-22 advantage. Reynolds finally got Bayern back on the board after more than 3 minutes and the deficit was down to 7. Tarczewski punched back with two scores off offensive rebounds and Sergio Rodiguez’s long triple made it 42-29. After Bayern managed 7 straight points to close the gap to 6, Shields hit three free throws and Datome connected from deep for a 50-38 lead, which was 50-40 at the break.



AX Armani Exchange Milan v Bayern Munich Highlights

AX Armani Exchange Milan v Bayern Munich Highlights  - Quarter-finals - May 4, 2021

Shields's free throws opened the second half and he added a big and-one before Delaney’s three-pointer increased the cushion to 58-44. Zipser connected from deep for Bayern but Shields remained unstoppable with the next 5 points as Milan moved ahead 63-47. Bayern made big comebacks in the series and hoped to start one with Seeley’s three-pointer making it 63-53. Milan responded with a Hines dunk and Punter finally scored for the first time with a triple and 2 free throws and Milan was up 70-53. Seeley barely kept Bayern’s dreams alive with a three-pointer as it was 72-58 after 30 minutes. Punter’s free throws started the final frame and the cushion was 76-60 after a big LeDay dunk. Baldwin refused to give up with a 5-point burst only to see Hines show his big-game experience with two scores and a block as the score was 82-66 with less than 6 minutes to play. Bayern has not met a lead it doesn’t think it could overcome and Baldwin scored two quick baskets and Zan Sisko drained a triple to get the guests within 83-77. Delaney rose just in time with a huge triple and followed it with a layup and Milan was up 88-77 with under 3 minutes to play. Shields appeared to have provided the dagger with 78 seconds left with a buzzer-beating three-pointer and a 91-79 lead. Bayern refused to die with Lucic hitting a three-pointer, followed by a Reynolds basket. Then Reynolds also hit from deep to make it 91-87 with 15 seconds remaining. Shields turned the ball over and Baldwin immediately put it in and then Shields committed another turnover to give Bayern the ball down 2 points with 14 seconds to play. Hines came up with a jump ball situation on a Baldwin attempt and Shields split free throws with 5.8 seconds left. Milan could only breathe relief when Zipser’s desperation three was off-target.



# Memories of 1992
The wait is over, Milan is back in the Final Four. The last time the Italian club reached the European showcase was in 1992, when it lost to eventual champion Partizan Belgrade in the semifinals.

# Bench to the rescue
One of the strengths of Milan is its depth and Coach Messina's men took advantage of that as the bench scored 61 points compared to 31 points from its starters. In fact, Shavon Shields out-scored the first five with 34 points of his own.

# Pivotal performer
Shavon Shields picked the perfect time for his best game in the EuroLeague. He tallied a career-high 34 points, including 5 of 6 three-pointers and 11 of 12 free throws to go with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals for a personal best index rating of 41.

# Johnson stepped up again for Bayern
JaJuan Johnson can be happy about the way he finished the EuroLeague season The Bayern big man had 14 points and 9 rebounds in Game 5 for a career-best PIR of 22. Over the final three games, the 32-year-old Johnson averaged a 19.3 PIR after having averaged an index rating of just 3.7 in the first 35 games of the season.

# Telling numbers
Milan made 20 of 22 free throws compared to 12 of 18 for Bayern. The hosts also drained 12 of 22 three-pointers while Bayern made just 7 of 19 from long range.



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Shavon Shields poured in a career-high 34 points to lead the three-time European champion, which advanced to its first Final Four since 1992. 

AX Armani Exchange Milan v FC Bayern Munich (2021-05-04T18:45:00.000Z)

"No matter what I'm doing on the court, the defense is gonna be there."

That one sentence has defined the spectacular career of Anadolu Efes Istanbul center Bryant Dunston. With that mindset, Dunston has won the EuroLeague Best Defender Trophy twice, been selected to the All-EuroLeague team, become the competition's all-time leader in blocked shots and played in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game with two different teams. 

"When I first won the defensive player of the year award, my dad told me that I have to maintain this for the entirety of my career because once I stop playing defense, then I become a less valuable player," Dunston said. "He said, 'Find what you're good at. Find what you do and just focus on that.'" 

"When someone drives to the basket, you don't want them to score at all." 

That focus on defense has accompanied Dunston on a professional career that started in South Korea and took him to Greece, Israel and Italy before he got his first taste of the EuroLeague at age 27. In the eight seasons since, he has been the competition's most-feared rim protector with a EuroLeague-record 273 career blocked shots.

According to Dunston, the key to his success as a shot-blocker comes down to being willing to sacrifice one's body for the team.

"It's timing. You have to have a little luck. You have to be able to jump a little bit. But it's more you have to be willing to do it," he explained. "You know there's been times where I wanted to block a shot. And I wasn't as willing so I didn't jump as hard and I didn't extend my arm all the way so I didn't get it...

"When you see your teammate get beat and you want to make up for his mistake… You want to help him, then you'll go block the shot. You'll do everything you can to stop that other player. When someone drives to the basket, you don't want them to score at all."

Experience also plays a role in knowing when to go all out for a block.

"My dad used to tell me when I was younger that I have to stop trying to block every shot because I would get in foul trouble a lot," Dunston recalled. "He's like 'You want the score to be 100-0. But sometimes you have to let it go. You have to know when to let the shot go.' "

Of course, blocking shots can be about much more than protecting your basket and denying the opponent 2 points.

"It's also sending a message to the other team," he agreed. "It's not gonna be easy. I think our last couple of years, we had really good toughness on the inside so a lot of teams were forced to take outside shots because they didn't want to drive to the basket so much."

On an Efes team with so much firepower, the balance has worked well for Dunston to put more effort on defense.

"I like contributing on both ends of the floor," he said. "I might sacrifice some offensive stuff because I'm giving so much on the defensive end. For me, there's no problem because our team needs something on defense. It's all about that balance and I just try to find out every season or every game how to help our team win." 

"I thought it was going to be a long relationship with this team, but I could never imagine it being as good as it has been for me." 

Perhaps it's a little bit easier for Dunston to find that balance in a place where he has become so comfortable. After playing his first two EuroLeague seasons with Olympiacos in 2013-14 and 2014-15, he joined Efes and has been with the club ever since.

"When I got to Olympiacos, I wasn't planning on leaving. I said, 'Okay, this is where I want to be.' And you know, I met my wife there, she was my girlfriend at the time but I said okay, she's the woman I want to be with. I was like this is the place I want to be and then… things happened," Dunston explained.

"When I got to Efes I said okay, I'm here. I see a team that has potential.' We had a really, really good team. I said, 'They're trying to do something here. I can see it.' You know? So as long as the organization is committed to winning and they're putting the team in the best position to win, I want to be here for that. So it kind of happened that over the years they saw that I want to win and I could still be a productive piece for them. At the time I thought it was going to be a long relationship with this team, but I could never imagine it being as good as it has been for me."

Indeed, it's been a historic run for Dunston. His 167 games played for Efes are second-most in club history behind only team captain Dogus Balbay (208). Dunston is also Efes's career leader in scoring (1,554 points), rebounds (859), and, naturally, blocks (203).

And as one might have guessed, with so much experience and great play on the court, Dunston has become a key team leader off the court just as much as he anchors the team on the hardwood. But that also was a lesson learned the hard way.

"Initially my first year, we had a lot of talented guys on the team and I was just one of the guys. So I figured that I would just lead by example and I wouldn't have to say too much and the guys would understand what we need to do to win. But in the end, thinking back, it's probably the leadership that wasn't there that we needed to get to the next level," Dunston lamented. "With the roster that we had, we could have easily made the Final Four.

"There were times where I could have said something and I didn't, so I had to grow as a leader. Now at that time, they saw me. I just came from a EuroLeague championship team who made it to the Final Four the year before and they were looking for me to be more vocal and give more guidance to the younger players. I didn't do it so I just learned from that and try to continue to tell people, even if they know it already. Sometimes you have to speak because they might not know it, and then there's an opportunity that you missed to teach somebody something you know."

After helping Efes reach the playoffs in his second season during which they blew a 2-1 series lead and lost in five games to Olympiacos, thus missing the playoffs, Dunston was also there the next season when Efes hit rock bottom and finished last in the league with a 7-23 record. But over the past three seasons, Efes has won the second-most games in the league. It reached the 2019 championship game and was atop the standings by a comfortable margin when the 2019-20 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"It feels amazing, you know, going through that journey of trying to build a culture here and then having a lot of bumps along the way. First I just said okay. If I have a talented enough team, if we have enough time with the talent here, we can win, but it's more than just talent. So the first year we had talent, but we didn't succeed. We didn't get to where we want to go. The next year we had great chemistry. But we lost in the fifth game," Dunston detailed.

"I'm definitely very thankful and you gotta take advantage of every opportunity that you get. They don't come around very often and the organization has always been committed to winning and they've been proven that the last few years. Coach has made sure that all the guys have been refined, that we built the core here and he saw the chemistry from the beginning from the first year when we were all together how important that was, and how it played out... The talent is there. Everything is in place and now we just need some things that go our way."

That starts for Efes on Dunston on Tuesday with a Game 5 winner-take-all showdown against Real Madrid for a ticket to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four. 

Anadolu Efes Istanbul center Bryant Dunston has used defense and his commitment to winning and playing team basketball to build a storied career in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

Bryant Dunston, Efes: 'The defense is gonna be there'

FC Bayern Munich’s fairytale season stayed alive as the German team came back from 13 points down to knock off AX Armani Exchange Milan 85-82 and force Game 5.

Bayern rallies past Milan to even series

FC Bayern Munich’s fairytale season stayed alive as the German team came back from 13 points down to knock off AX Armani Exchange Milan 85-82 and force Game 5. Milan pulled away late in the first half and the advantage was 42-55 early in the third quarter. Bayern fought back and went ahead at 80-79 with 3 minutes to play. The hosts were trailing by two points when Vladimir Lucic threw down an alley-oop pass from Paul Zipser and hit the bonus free throw with 23 seconds to play. Lucic, the hero from Game 3, calmly sank two more free throws with 8.3 seconds remaining to ice the game and keep Bayern’s dreams of a first-ever Final Four alive. Wade Baldwin led Bayern with 18 points while Zipser scored all 16 of his points in the final 17 minutes. Lucic and JaJuan Johnson both picked up 12 points and DJ Seeley added 11 points. Bayern struggled to slow down Malcolm Delaney, who totalled 28 points, while Shavon Shields added 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for Milan. Zach LeDay and Kevin Punter both chipped in 10 points but it was not enough and Milan will have to finish the series at home for the three-time European champion to make the Final Four for the first time in 29 years.



Delaney opened the game with a three-pointer on the first possession before Jalen Reynolds hit free throws for Bayern’s first points. It was 2-6 before Baldwin hit Bayern’s first basket after more than 3 minutes, and home team coach Andrea Trinchieri continued to switch through players looking for the right mix. DJ Seeley came on and immediately hit a three-pointer and two free throws, putting Bayern up for the first time, 9-8. Kyle Hines threw down a dunk as Milan briefly went back ahead, but Seeley added six more points and Johnson chipped in a three-point play to send Bayern up 23-19 after 10 minutes. Sergio Rodriguez started the second quarter with a three-pointer, which was cancelled out by an and-one from Reynolds. Milan remained on target from deep with a Luigi Datome triple and Delaney adding a four-point play for the game’s biggest lead so far, 26-32. Johnson tried to keep Bayern close with two jumpers but Delaney picked up six more points and LeDay increased the lead. A Jeremy Evans dunk swelled the margin to double figures and Milan went into the break up 40-50.



Catch up on Bayern Munich v AX Armani Exchange Milan highlights from Quarter-finals of the 2020/21 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, April 30, 2021

Bayern Munich v AX Armani Exchange Milan Highlights - Quarter-finals - April 30, 2021

Bayern opened the second half scoring on a Baldwin fastbreak layup but Delaney punched back with a triple and LeDay threw down a big dunk for a 42-55 lead. Zipser stepped up for the hosts with a big dunk and one, and added a three-pointer to help Bayern get within 61-66. But Shields came up big at the end of the quarter with a buzzer-beating three-pointer and Milan was up 63-71 after 30 minutes. After Punter’s jumper re-established the double-digit margin for Milan, Zipser drained a three-pointer, Lucic followed from deep and Zipser hammered home a dunk to reduce the deficit to 73-75. Zipser hit another triple to get within one point and Reynolds drained a jumper to put Bayern ahead, 80-79, with 3 minutes to play. Milan nosed back in front on a layup by Delaney, who missed the bonus free throw. Delaney was off target on his next layup attempt and Bayern raced back for an alley-up dunk and-one by Lucic with 23 seconds to play for a 83-82 lead. James Gist came up with a huge defensive play by drawing an offensive foul on Shields with 9.7 seconds left. Lucic stepped up at the other end with two free throws with 8.3 seconds remaining for an 85-82 margin. Datome and Delaney missed three-pointers in the final seconds and Bayern forced Game 5.



# History one step closer
Bayern became just the fifth team to force a Game 5 of the playoffs after losing the first two games. Should Bayern win the decider next week it would be the first team in EuroLeague history to reach the Final Four after going down 0-2 in the playoffs.

# Bayern defense steps up in second half
Bayern has been thriving with its defense this season and it failed them in the second quarter, allowing Milan to score 31 points. But the Italian side produced just 33 points in the final 20 minutes as Bayern’s defense again stood tall.

# Reynolds with ray of hope
After being a force for Bayern all regular season, Jalen Reynolds had struggled mightily in the playoffs. He had 8.0 points and 3.3 rebounds through the first three games after averaging 14.1 points and 5.9 rebounds in 34 regular season games. In Game 4, though, Reynolds had a ray of hope as he picked up 9 points and 6 rebounds, including the offensive rebound and put-back to make it 78-79 and then the jumper to put Bayern up 80-79.

# Telling numbers
Bayern made 22-of-26 free throws to 20-of-26 for Milan and the hosts converted on 57.1% of its two-pointers. Bayern also committed only 11 turnovers and its defense got to the Milan reserves, who had 10 of Milan’s 14 turnovers in the game.

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Zenit St Petersburg v FC Barcelona (2021-04-30T17:00:00.000Z)

Zenit St Petersburg tied its playoffs series with FC Barcelona with a dominant 74-61 home victory on Friday night. 

Zenit overwhelms Barcelona to tie series

Zenit St Petersburg tied its playoffs series with FC Barcelona with a dominant 74-61 home victory on Friday night. Zenit, which was in front all the way, raced into a double-digit lead with an explosive start, and held a 36-26 half-time advantage after a low-scoring second quarter. Zenit further stretched the lead after the break, taking the margin past 20 points early in the fourth quarter, and Barca never got the deficit down to single digits. Kevin Pangos was the chief inspiration for the home team, combining 20 points and 8 assists. Alex Poythress added 12 points, while Austin Hollins and Tarik Black both scored 11. Nick Calathes led Barcelona with a season-high 19 points, and Cory Higgins added 13. The decider will take place at Palau Blaugrana on Tuesday.



Zenit had a fast start through Black in penetration and Hollins from deep, before a Calathes three-pointer got Barca on the scoreboard. A three-point play and a powerful dunk from Poythress kept the hosts ahead, despite a pair of baskets from Higgins. Poythress unleashed another slam followed by a jumper to give Zenit a double-digit lead, and Pangos added a floater to make it 23-9. Nikola Mirotic stopped a 8-0 run from close-range, before KC Rivers and Leandro Bolmaro traded inside scores to make it 25-13 after ten minutes. Billy Baron extended the lead early in the second, and Rivers kept the advantage in double figures, 30-17, with a three-pointer as defenses dominated. Mirotic answered with his own threeball, before Will Thomas and Kyle Kuric scored underneath the basket. Calathes pulled it back to 32-24, before driving layups from Baron and Calathes made it 36-26 at the break.



Catch up on Zenit St Petersburg v FC Barcelona highlights from Quarter-finals of the 2020/21 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, April 30, 2021

Zenit St Petersburg v FC Barcelona Highlights - Quarter-finals - April 30, 2021

Hollins from deep and Pangos with a floater stretched the lead to 41-26 after the interval, and a layup from Calathes was bettered by a three-point play from Pangos, who soon scored again in penetration for a 46-30 lead. Calathes boosted Barca with a corner three and Bolmaro hit from mid-range, but Black made a three-point play and Pangos added a triple to keep Zenit in control, 53-36. A turnaround jumper from the red-hot Pangos and a putback-and-one from Black made it 58-38 at the end of the third. Black and Rivers kept Zenit totally in charge early in the fourth. Calathes and Rolands Smits both scored twice to pull Barca back to 63-51, with 5 minutes left, but Poythress from close range and Pangos with a long two settled Zenit, 69-53 with 3 minutes to go. A couple of baskets from Kuric gave Barca a glimmer of hope, but a triple from Billy Baron secured the win.



# Poythress shines off the bench
With Arturas Gudaitis and Mateusz Ponitka already out, Zenit appeared to have early problems in the big man position when Tarik Black picked up two quick fouls. But that proved to be a blessing in disguise as Alex Poythress came off the bench to make a huge instant impression, scoring 9 points in 4 minutes to power his team into a double-digit lead.

# Zenit dominates the boards
Poythress was one of the reasons Zenit totally dominated the boards, with the home team winning the rebounding battle 40-26. Will Thomas led the way with 9 rebounds, supported by Black (6) and Poythress (5). Nikola Mirotic topped Barca’s rebounding with 6 and Nick Calathes grabbed 5, but no other Barca player had more than 2 boards.

# Mirotic struggles again
Although he competed well under the boards, the game saw Mirotic continue to struggle in the scoring department as he netted just 7 points on 2-of-11 field goal shooting. Barca’s leading scorer during the regular season with 16.9 points per game, Mirotic has averaged just 9.0 points in the playoffs.

# Barca squashed beyond the arc
Discounting Calathes, who made 3 of his 7 three-point attempts, Barca went 1-of-12 from long-range, with Zenit’s swarming defense preventing the visitors from getting good looks outside the arc.

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 Kevin Pangos was the chief inspiration for the home team, combining 20 points and 8 assists.

Real Madrid rallied from a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit for the second time in two days to edge Anadolu Efes Istanbul 82-76 and force a deciding Game 5 in their best-of-five Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs series. 

Real's déjà vu rally evens series with Efes

Real Madrid rallied from a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit for the second time in two days to edge Anadolu Efes Istanbul 82-76 and force a deciding Game 5 in their best-of-five Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs series. Efes led by 16 points in the second quarter and 59-72 early in the fourth, but the visitors did not score another field goal in the final 7:20 of the game while Sergio Llull and Usman Garuba fueled a huge run for Real to come back and pull out another improbable victory. Garuba posted career highs of 24 points, 12 rebounds and 30 PIR to lead Real, while Jaycee Carroll netted 20 points on 4-for-7 three-point shooting. Rodrigue Beaubois scored 19 of his 23 points in the first half for Efes, while Shane Larkin had 22 points and 8 assists in the losing effort.

Real stormed out of the gate behind Carrol's 8 points in the opening 83 seconds of the game, including a corner triple. Real's 1-2-2 matchup zone forced 6 turnovers on Efes, while a triple and a dunk by Garuba extended the lead before another three-pointer from Carroll made it 17-0 after less than 5 minutes. Efes needed 5 minutes and 44 seconds to open its tally with Krunoslav Simon's triple, but that got the visitors uncorked. Simon followed with a runner before back-to-back threes from Larkin and Beaubois capped an 0-11 run. Trey Thompkins helped the hosts hold 19-13 after 10 minutes, but Efes needed just over a minute in the second quarter to take the lead, 19-21, behind back-to-back threes from Larkin and Beaubois. Rudy Fernandez hit a pair of three-pointers for Real, but Beaubois and Chris Singleton had one each for the visitors to spark another 0-11 Efes run and open a 27-37 lead. Llull and Larkin traded floaters before Beaubois hit his fifth downtown dagger in as many attempts. The first triple from Vasilije Micic opened 31-47 Efes advantage before a three-pointer from Carlos Alocen cut Madrid's deficit to 36-47 at halftime.

Catch up on Real Madrid v Anadolu Efes Istanbul highlights from Quarter-finals of the 2020/21 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, April 29, 2021

Real Madrid v Anadolu Efes Istanbul Highlights

Garuba and Bryant Dunston traded baskets early in the third quarter before Carroll nailed a pair of triples, turning one into a four-point play. Two more close-range baskets from Garuba narrowed the gap to 51-55. Still, Efes answered with 9 consecutive points behind the play of Larkin and Singleton. Micic capped that run with a three-pointer at 51-64. Three-pointers from Abalde and Thompkins got Real within 57-66 after 30 minutes, but Larkin had a three-point play and a three-pointer to restore 59-72 margin early in the final quarter. Real was not going away, however. Carroll and Garuba fueled a 6-0 run before Llull took it to the rim and Garuba had 2 more baskets, including a fastbreak dunk. A three from Abalde put Real up 74-73 with 1:49 to go. The hosts' defense did not allow another field goal, while Llull, Fernandez and Garuba went perfect 8 of 8 from the free throw line the rest of the way to secure a victory.



# Déjà vu
After Real finished Game 3 with a 19-2 run, the team delivered another identical spurt in Game 4, using a 19-2 run to turn a 59-72 deficit into a 78-74 lead.

# Teenager stars
In absence of Walter Tavares, 19-year old Usman Garuba got another opportunity to carry a heavy load, and he delivered. He played 33:26 minutes and starred with 24 points, making 7 of 11 two-pointers and 1 of 4 triples, and pulled down 12 rebounds for a team-high PIR of 30.

# Big swings
Real led 17-0 in the first quarter, but Efes rallied then pulled away to a 31-47 lead for a swing of 33 points in just over 13 minutes of play. However, Real had a final say, turning a 59-72 deficit into a six-point win in the final 7 minutes of the game.

# Cross-game run
Real Madrid scored the final 16 points of Game 3 then opened this game with a 17-0 run. Real did not allow a single point in the final 4:34 of Game 3 nor in the first 5 minutes and 44 seconds of Game 4.

# Beaubois enters history books
Rodrigue Beaubois was 5-for-5 from long range at halftime, which tied a playoffs record set by Vassilis Spanoulis for three-pointers made in a first half. Spanoulis hit all 5 of his three-point attempts in Game 2 home loss against Efes in 2016.

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 Sergio Llull and Usman Garuba fueled a huge run for Real to come back from a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit and pull out another improbable victory. 

Euroleague Basketball regrets having to announce that due to the ongoing global pandemic situation and in accordance with the recommendations of the German national and local authorities, it has been decided to organize the 2021 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four without any fans in attendance.

The decision comes despite Euroleague Basketball having spent a year since last season was cancelled prematurely developing a large number of options and scenarios with the intention of letting as many fans as safely possible take part in the Final Four.

However, since the health and safety of the fans and participants remain the paramount concern for all, attendance at the Final Four will now be limited to teams, working staff and selected media, all subject to strict hygiene protocols and regulations. Euroleague Basketball will also provide a remote service for all journalists not being able to attend due to current restrictions to provide them the same opportunities as if they were on-site.

At the same time, knowing that they cannot enjoy the Final Four in person, Euroleague Basketball is working to bring the best coverage possible to all fans when the event takes place at Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany on May 28 and 30.

Just as the 2020-21 season has been different than all others due to the absence of fans owing to the global pandemic, the Final Four will not be the same without them, either.

With the aim of bringing the Final Four to the fans in their homes, Euroleague Basketball will announce during the following weeks a series of innovative projects and content that will put the focus on the digital platforms to provide our fans exclusive behind-the-scenes content in order to put fans closer than ever to the players and teams during the pinnacle moments of the season at the Final Four.

Euroleague Basketball wishes to thank all fans for their patience and devotion under this season's trying circumstances and looks forward to the day when all of you have the opportunity again to enjoy the games in person at arenas around the continent.



2021 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four to be held without fans

CSKA Moscow didn’t waste any opportunity and finished off Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul on its first chance with a convincing 68-85 victory on the road to complete a 3-0 sweep for a ninth consecutive appearance in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four.

CSKA sweeps Fenerbahce to cinch 9th straight Final Four

CSKA Moscow didn’t waste any opportunity and finished off Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul on its first chance with a convincing 68-85 victory on the road to complete a 3-0 sweep for a ninth consecutive appearance in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four. CSKA gave up the first 12 points of the game, but came back and took control of it for good with a 6-35 run spanning the second and third quarters. Will Clyburn was unstoppable with 34 points and a performance index rating of 38, while Iffe Lundberg chipped in 22 points and Johannes Voigtmann 11. Fenerbahce was swept from the playoffs for the first time and the club’s streak of five straight Final Four appearances was snapped. Nando De Colo led the way with 22 points while Marko Guduric had 10 points in the loss.



CSKA coach Dimitris Itoudis kept the same starting lineup from Game 2 with Daniel Hackett, Janis Strelnieks, Toko Shengelia, Nikita Kurbanov and Michael Eric while Fenerbahce playcaller Erdem Can - still filling in for the absent Igor Kokoskov - finally got to field Jan Veseley and Ahmet Duverioglu for the first time, joining Tarik Biberovic alongside Guduric and De Colo. De Colo started the proceedings with a layup and was followed by 4 points from Vesely and a three-point play from Biberovic. It was 12-0 when De Colo hit from deep. CSKA ended up missing its first 4 shots and had 3 turnovers before Clyburn drained a triple after nearly 4 minutes and Voigtmann’s three made it 12-6. Guduric responded twice from the outside and Fenerbahce was back up by 12 points - 20-8. Darrun Hilliard came off the CSKA bench with 4 points and the gap was 24-17 after 10 minutes. After CSKA opened the second quarter with the first 4 points to pull within one possession, De Colo tallied 5 points as the hosts pushed the margin back to double figures, 33-23. Lundberg stepped up for CSKA with 5 straight points and then assisted on back-to-back Clyburn triples and a Shengelia layup before scoring 4 more points to complete the 4-21 run for a 37-44 lead. Lorenzo Brown managed to score just before the break and Fenerbahce trailed 39-44 at intermission.



Catch up on Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v CSKA Moscow highlights from Quarter-finals of the 2020/21 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, April 28, 2021

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v CSKA Moscow Highlights - Quarter-finals - April 28, 2021

Clyburn’s free throws started the third quarter and then Fenerbahce lost its star Vesely for the rest of the game just 77 seconds into the second half with two fouls and a technical foul. Clyburn followed with 3 foul shots and Lundberg drained a triple on the ensuing possession with Hackett and Shengelia following from deep. CSKA led 39-58. De Colo hit a free throw to finally stop the bleeding after nearly 4 minutes. Fenerbahce was able to score a bit more consistently, but Hilliard and Clyburn both knocked down three-pointers and CSKA was streaking away 50-71 after 30 minutes. Melih Mahmutoglu scored the first points of the fourth quarter, but CSKA kept Fenerbahce scoreless for the next 5 minutes and Clyburn added 6 points as the advantage swelled to 52-78 midway through the final frame. Fenerbahce managed a 9-0 run over 3 minutes to get within 61-78, but the hole was too deep.



# Sweeping into history
By finishing off the sweep, CSKA won a playoffs series 3-0 for the fourth time following 2008-09 (Partizan Belgrade), 2015-16 (Crvena Zvezda Belgrade) and 2016-17 (Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz). CSKA is the only team with four sweeps. Fenerbahce had also won three series 3-0 (2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17).

# No big fourth quarter needed
CSKA needed big fourth quarters to take the first two games of the series at home - 28-10 in Game 1 and 18-12 in Game 2. But the Russian powerhouse made sure it didn’t need to sweat in the end by building the big lead in the third quarter.

# Career nights for Clyburn, Lundberg
It was a career night for CSKA’s two heroes off the bench - Will Clyburn and Iffe Lundberg. Clyburn’s 34 points topped his previous career-high of 27 points and his PIR of 38 was 4 higher than his previous best. Lundberg’s 22 points were 1 point off his career-high, but he grabbed a personal best 7 rebounds, tied his record with 5 assists and set a new mark with 4 steals to go with a new high of 32 index rating.

# CSKA bench shows its strength
Clyburn and Lundberg both came off the bench for CSKA, which needed the boost as the starting five picked up just 11 points combined. The CSKA reserves totaled 74 points, with Johannes Voigtmann contributing 11 points. The trio of Clyburn, Lundberg and Voigtmann had a combined index rating of 88 while the rest of the team only had a 7 PIR - logging 92.6% of the team efficiency of 95.

# Telling numbers
CSKA was able to take advantage of Fenerbahce’s miscues with 32 points off turnovers to 20 for Fenerbahce. It was the most points off turnovers for CSKA in a playoff game and the third-highest value by the team since the 2007-08 season.

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Will Clyburn was unstoppable with 34 points and a performance index rating of 38, while Iffe Lundberg chipped in 22 points.

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v CSKA Moscow (2021-04-28T17:45:00.000Z)