A stunning performance from Vasilije Micic gave Anadolu Efes Istanbul a comeback 77-80 victory over Panathinaikos OPAP Athens in a highly competitive showdown on Friday night.
Panathinaikos led for almost the entirety of the first half, protecting a series of small leads with determined defense and robust rebounding. But Micic inspired an Efes turnaround in the second half, scoring 12 points in 6 minutes after the break to give his team a lead which rose to double-digits and was never overcome.
Micic finished with a career-high 33 points, including 17 in the third quarter, and Krunoslav Simon (12 points) was the only other Efes player to score in double figures. New signing Shelvin Mack led Panathinaikos with 18 points, while Georgios Papagiannis scored 16 on 7-of-8 field goal shooting. Ioannis Papapetrou scored 12 points and Aaron White added 11. Efes improves to 4-3, while Panathinaikos drops to 2-4.
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