Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs Game 5 MVP: Vassilis Spanoulis, Olympiacos Piraeus

It is only fitting that in a game that saw Olympiacos Piraeus secure its place at the Final Four, Vassilis Spanoulis would be MVP. Spanoulis had the best performance index rating, 22, among the 24 men that suited up in Game 5 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs to earn MVP honors. The Reds’ guard continued to add to his legendary status as he took charge with 22 points and 6 assists in an 87-78 victory over Anadolu Efes Istanbul on Tuesday at Peace & Friendship Stadium. He also made history by making 8 of 11 free throws and becoming the first player to reach 900 free throws in the EuroLeague. Spanoulis was 2 for 7 from downtown to set a EuroLeague record for three-pointers in a playoff series with 17. The next-highest index rating in Game 5 came from Efes forward Tyler Honeycutt, who produced 10 points and 10 rebounds in compiling an index rating of 15. And Olympiacos big man Khem Birch was third with 9 points, 11 rebounds and an index rating of 14.

Individual leaders: Khem Birch of Olympiacos Piraeus, 11 rebounds

Spanoulis was also the top scorer for Game 5 with 22 points, which was a new playoff career best in his 34th career playoff game. His 17.0 points per game was fourth-best in the playoffs; Brad Wanamaker of Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul averaged 21.0 points per game to lead all playoff participants. Birch had the most rebounds of the night, 11, while Honeycutt goes down as the top rebounder for the stage with an average of 8.6 rebounds per game. Spanoulis tied his Efes counterpart Thomas Heurtel with 6 assists apiece in Game 5. The Olympiacos guard was the playoff leader with 6.0 assists per game. No player had multiple steals in Game 5, while Efes big man Bryant Dunston topped the table with 2 blocks. James Augustine of CSKA Moscow and Adam Hanga of Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz topped the playoff charts in steals, each with 2.0 per game, and Fenerbahce Istanbul center Ekpe Udoh led all players in blocks with 2.0 per game.