Valencia Basket extended its strong form at Roig Arena on Thursday night, defeating Anadolu Efes Istanbul 94-82 to claim its fourth straight EuroLeague victory and climb to second place in the standings.
The hosts set the tone early by winning the first three quarters and controlling the pace throughout Round 15.
Kameron Taylor delivered a career-best performance, finishing with 20 points on near-flawless shooting.
He went 5-for-5 inside the arc, 3-for-4 from deep and added 5 rebounds, 2 steals and a PIR of 24.
Taylor scored 16 of his points in the second half, attacking the rim and making key plays on both ends before knocking down a buzzer-beater to close the night.
Valencia entered the game missing centers Vincent Poirier and Kai Jones, which shifted more responsibility to Matt Costello, Jaime Pradilla and Nate Reuvers near the basket.
Costello responded with his most productive EuroLeague outing of the season, scoring 15 points on 4-of-4 three-point shooting while adding 5 rebounds and a block in 18 minutes off the bench.
Pradilla continued to show his growth with an all-around performance that included 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, setting a new career high with a PIR of 23.
Reuvers helped set the tone early by scoring 7 first-half points as six different players reached at least 5 points before halftime.
Valencia’s offensive firepower was backed by sharp execution after the break.
The team shot 72.7% on two-pointers in the second half and added 9 made threes while dishing out 14 assists with only 5 turnovers.
Efes stayed competitive behind Jordan Loyd and Isaia Cordinier, who each scored 18 points, but the visitors struggled to slow Valencia’s shooting and ball movement.
Rolands Smits added 8 points and 5 rebounds, yet Efes never fully recovered from Valencia’s early control of the game.
Valencia improved to 10-5 and will face Olympiacos Piraeus on Tuesday with a chance to strengthen its position in the top tier.
Efes, now 5-10, will look to rebound when it heads to Kaunas to play Zalgiris before returning home to host Dubai.
