Gordon, Hopson lead Anadolu Efes to key home win

Anadolu Efes Istanbul thrashed Strasbourg 88-65 at home on Friday to improve to 4-3 in competitive Group B. Efes will make it to the Top 16 if it beats Brose Baskets Bamberg next week. Meanwhile, Strasbourg dropped to 1-6 and has slim chances to advance to the next round. Scotty Hopson paced the winners with 23 points on 6-of-6 two-point shooting and 3-of-5 from downtown. Jamon Gordon added 18 points, 7 assists and 5 steals, while Semih Erden and Kostas Vasileadis each scored 12 points for Efes. Erden added 9 rebounds for the hosts. Alexis Ajinca led Strasbourg with 21 points. Tim Abromaitis had 12 for the guests. Dogus Balbay and Gordon shined early to give Efes a 24-12 lead after 10 minutes. A wild reverse slam by Hopson boosted the hosts' margin to 46-27 near halftime. Nothing changed from after that as Efes boosted its margin to 64-36 and Strasbourg only trimmed the deficit once the outcome was clear.