Anadolu Efes Istanbul bounced back from its opening-round loss at FC Barcelona by defeating Real Madrid 94-84 on Tuesday at the Turkcell Basketball Development Center.
Efes built a 13-point lead with a 20-4 second-quarter run and held off several late pushes from Real to secure its first EuroLeague win of the season. The victory moved Pablo Laso’s team to 1-1, while Real Madrid fell to 0-2.
PJ Dozier led Efes with 18 points, three rebounds and three assists, making 6-of-10 shots from the field and all four of his free throws. It was a strong response after he scored three points in the opening game against Barcelona.
Matthew Strazel added 14 points, while Jordan Loyd and Mike James each scored 12. Dario Saric contributed 10 points, four assists and three rebounds, and Mike James also had four assists and three steals.
Efes’ defense was particularly effective in forcing Real into mistakes. The hosts forced 21 turnovers and converted them into 30 points, while also scoring 27 fastbreak points.
Kai Jones contributed five points, three steals and two blocks while helping Efes disrupt Real’s ball movement.
Real led 29-27 after the opening quarter, but Efes responded with a 20-4 surge to take a 50-37 advantage. The hosts carried a 53-41 lead into halftime before extending it to 14 points in the third quarter.
Real refused to go away, cutting the deficit to seven entering the final period and getting within four points four times during the final four minutes. Efes, however, remained composed despite missing its final six three-point attempts.
The hosts finished 10-of-25 from three-point range, improving significantly from their 20% shooting from deep in the loss to Barcelona.
Facundo Campazzo led Real with 16 points and five assists, while Chuma Okeke added 11 points and Theo Maledon scored nine. Real committed 21 turnovers compared with 10 for Efes.
Efes will visit Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade on Thursday, while Real Madrid travels to face Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv.
