By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
Real Madrid and Anadolu Efes put up the craziest game in the history of the EuroLeague, won by the 1st team in the standings 130-126 after four overtime (!) and more than three hours since the start of the game. 60 of those 130 points were produced by Dzanan Musa, named EuroLeague Round 19 MVP.
Scoring 40 points and dishing 8 assists, Real Madrid‘s own ended with a career-high game with 45 of PIR after 45:25 minutes on the court. He shot 13/15 from two, 2/5 from three, and 8/11 at the charity stripe, while also drawing 7 fouls and grabbing 2 rebounds.
In the post-game flash interview, he gave the credit to Mario Hezonja for his performances, joking about it. “I have a story to tell. Mario [Hezonja] was taping me today, and he said: “When I tape you, you will score 40″. I swear to god”, he first said before going deeper into his team’s amazing performance.
“This team is crazy! I am proud of my teammates and I thank them for this night. I am very proud of the team and also very proud of me. I need to sleep now, to sleep a lot and rest a bit because we have another game in two days. We have to rest and enjoy this win”, he added.
The 24-year-old Bosnian player, who spent time with Anadolu Efes when returning from the NBA, has been averaging 13.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game with 62.0% from the field and 42.3% from beyond the arc. This is his second season with Real Madrid.
Full list of 2023-24 EuroLeague Round MVPs
- Round 1: Alec Peters, Olympiacos vs Panathinaikos (31 PIR)
- Round 2: Guerschon Yabusele, Real Madrid vs Anadolu Efes (39 PIR)
- Round 3: Tornike Shengelia, Virtus Bologna vs ALBA Berlin (32 PIR)
- Round 4: Nikola Milutinov, Olympiacos vs Partizan Belgrade (30 PIR)
- Round 5: Mathias Lessort, Panathinaikos vs Baskonia (31 PIR)
- Round 6: Tornike Shengelia, Virtus Bologna vs Anadolu Efes (30 PIR)
- Round 7: Facundo Campazzo, Real Madrid vs Virtus Bologna (39 PIR)
- Round 8: Codi Miller-McIntyre, Baskonia vs FC Barcelona (29 PIR)
- Round 9: Chima Moneke, Baskonia vs ASVEL (35 PIR)
- Round 10: Shane Larkin, Anadolu Efes vs Partizan Belgrade – Maodo Lo, Milan vs Crvena Zvezda (38 PIR)
- Round 11: Serge Ibaka, Bayern Munich vs Virtus Bologna (34 PIR)
- Round 12: Tyrique Jones, Anadolu Efes vs Panathinaikos (36 PIR)
- Round 13: Shane Larkin, Anadolu Efes vs ALBA Berlin (41 PIR)
- Round 14: Kostas Sloukas, Panathinaikos vs ASVEL (29 PIR)
- Round 15: Josh Nebo, Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Baskonia – Kevin Punter, Partizan Belgrade vs Valencia – Shavon Shields, Olimpia Milano vs ASVEL (25 PIR)
- Round 16: Milos Teodosic, Crvena Zvezda vs Maccabi Tel Aviv (40 PIR)
- Round 17: Johannes Voigtmann, Milano vs Baskonia (29 PIR)
- Round 18: Chima Moneke, Baskonia vs Panathinaikos – Bonzie Colson, Maccabi Tel Aviv vs AS Monaco (34 PIR)
- Round 19: Dzanan Musa, Real Madrid vs Anadolu Efes (45 PIR)
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague