Anadolu Efes topple Barcelona without Micić

ISTANBUL

Anadolu Efes Istanbul grabbed its eighth road win of the season by downing FC Barcelona 82-86 at Palau Blaugrana on Jan. 10.

Istanbul powerhouse entered the last quarter leading 58-66, but a 14-0 run behind three consecutive three-pointers by Barca's Kyle Kuric turned the game upside down.

A late rally by the visitors, sparked by successive triples from Alec Peters, Shane Larkin and Chris Singleton, allowed Efes to escape with a valuable win and remain atop of the standings with a 15-3 record, tied with Real Madrid.

Anadolu Efes did not face any problems in the away match at Palau Blaugrana although Serbian star Vasilije Micic did not play against because of ankle problems.

Micic is an integral part of Anadolu Efes, averaging 14.2 points and 5.8 assists in 17 EuroLeague appearances this season.

FC Barcelona dropped to 13-5 and third place.

Anadolu Efes was led by Larkin, who posted 26 points on 9-for-9 free-throw shooting, 5 assists and 5 boards for 35 performance index rating.

Chris Singleton had a season-high 17 points on 3-for-3 three-point shooting, including a key one to make it 79-82 entering the last minute, against his former team.

Krunoslav Simon added 10 points for Efes Brandon Davies scored 20 points for the losers, 16 of them in the third quarter.

He was followed by Malcolm Delaney, Nikola Mirotic and Kuric, with 15, 14 and 11 points, respectively.

The win allows Anadolu Efes to remain on top of the EuroLeague at 15-3.

EuroLeague title contenders, Barcelona, falls to 13-5, currently in third place in the standings.

Other results in EuroLeague:

Barcelona - Anadolu Efes: 82-86

Khimki Moscow Region - Zenit St Petersburg : 81-83

Bayern Munich - CSKA Moscow: 77-84

LDLC Asvel Villeurbanne - Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade: 80-83

Valencia Basket - Olympiacos Piraeus: 91-93