Anadolu Efes Istanbul fought back from a 13-point second-half deficit to defeat Panathinaikos Athens 91-86 on Thursday at Abdi Ipekci Arena. The game had no relevance for the hosts, but the Greens needed a victory to have a shot at home-court advantage for the playoffs. But Dario Saric and Thomas Heurtel led a balanced effort to deny Panathinaikos, which fell to 9-5 and finished the Top 16 in third place. The Greens will meet Laboral Kutxa Vitoria Gasteiz in the playoffs. Efes placed fifth in Group E with a 7-7 record. Saric stepped up with a clutch triple to extend the lead, a key block on defense and a three-point play as Efes pulled away to give their fans a parting gift. The forward tallied 15 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks to lead six Efes scorers in double figures. Jon Diebler added 13 points, Cedi Osman scored 12, Bryant Dunston and Derrick Brown each posted 11, Alex Tyus 10 and Heurtel finished with 9 points and 9 assists. Gist, Calathes and Elliot Williams led Panathinaikos with 14 points apiece and Vladimir Jankovic, Miroslav Raduljica and Dimitris Diamantidis added 10 points each. Calathes also dished 10 assists. Panathinaikos missed its final 6 three-point tries of the game.
Score in each period: 17-23, 43-52, 61-66, 91-86
