BELGRADE, Jan. 31 -- Turkish Anadolu Efes, current leader of the basketball Euroleague, beat Serbian Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) 85-78 here on Friday in the Round 22.
Anadolu Efes, who lost just three matches in the Euroleague this season, was unstoppable from the very beginning of the match at the Belgrade Arena, despite cheering of some 14,000 home fans.
Shane Larkin opened the game with 10 points and helped Anadolu Efes to build 8-point lead by the end of the first quarter. The guest continued with a 10-0 series early in the second quarter thanks to three pointers of Rodrigue Beaubois and Chris Singleton, expanding their lead to double digits.
The halftime score was sealed by Beaubois with a three pointer that expanded the gap to over 20 points.
Crvena Zvezda got back early in the second half, thanks to brilliant performance of Vladimir Stimac and Dejan Davidovac, and narrowed the gap to 14 points before the final quarter, but managed only to approach to 7 points before the final buzzer.
Larkin was most efficient in Anadolu Efes ranks with 23 points, while on the other side Dejan Davidovac scored 15.
Crvena Zvezda host Panathinaikos next week, while Efes play against CSKA in Moscow.