ISTANBUL
Anadolu Efes have beaten Real Madrid 75-72 in the Euroleague final eight playoff showdown to stay alive, thanks to Matt Janning's buzzer-beating three-pointer.
Anadolu Efes are now trailing 2-1 in the best-of-five series, the fourth game of which will be in Istanbul on Thursday, April 23, at 19.00 CET (20.00 Turkish time).
The game started with a low tempo, with the two teams struggling to find baskets.
But with defensive strength, Real Madrid managed to pull down a five-point lead after the first quarter, 20-15.
The second quarter showed some endurance from Anadolu Efes, when Center Dario Saric's rebounds and points from Center Nenad Krstic and Forward Cedi Osman's baskets kept Efes in the game, even enabling them to take the lead after the first half, 32-30.
In the third quarter, Anadolu Efes continued its all-round performance, both in offense and defense, and managed to increase the gap after three quarters, 56-46.
In the final quarter, Real Madrid was able to narrow the gap and tried to make a comeback in the game.
The final three minutes were a thriller as Real Madrid were able to even the score, 72 apiece, with 10 seconds to go.
Then three-point specialist Matt Janning took center stage.
Anadolu Efes point-guard Dontaye Draper passed the ball to Janning, who hit the buzzer-beating three-point shot to beat Real Madrid 75-72.
With the score, Anadolu Efes managed to survive in the best-of-five quarter final Euroleague playoff showdown.
Matt Janning, the hero of the day, scored 21 points along with five three-pointers for Anadolu Efes.
Center Nenad Krstic added 17 points and Center Dario Saric managed to pull down 15 rebounds for his team.
For Real Madrid, Sergio Llull scored 15 points, Sergio Rodriguez added 17 points and K.C. Rivers chipped in with 12 points as well, but it was not enough for the Spanish team to take a 3-0 lead and advance to the Final Four in the tournament.
