Heurtel stars as Anadolu Efes outlasts Unics

Anadolu Efes Istanbul came from behind and then held off a late Unics Kazan charge to register a 104-99 victory on Tuesday at Abdi Ipekci Arena. The win boosted Efes’s record to 3-4, while dropping Unics to 2-5. Thomas Heurtel starred with 24 points and 8 assists as Efes smashed its club record for assists with 34, which was 7 more than Efes’s previous best and 2 short of the EuroLeague mark held by Real Madrid. Jayson Granger also dished 8 assists and Derrick Brown 6 to help the club in that category. The team also made 23 of 24 free throws (95.8%), which marked the best free-throw shooting night in club history in games in which it attempted at least 10 foul shots. DeShaun Thomas scored 13 of his 20 points in the first half to keep Efes in the game early, as did Cedi Osman, who scored 13 in the first quarter and finished the game with 16 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting. Bryant Dunston added 13 points and 9 rebounds and Tyler Honeycutt contributed 12 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners. League-leading scorer Keith Langford led Unics with 25 points and tied a career-high with 9 assists, while Art Parakhouski posted 20 points and 10 rebounds, Quino Colom tallied 11 points and 8 assists and Orlando Johnson scored 10 in defeat.