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Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs - Game 2 MVP: Vincent Poirier, Real Madrid

A dominant two-way performance for the only team to win both of its games so far earned Real Madrid center Vincent Poirier the MVP honor for Game 2 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs. Poirier dominated the paint as Real swamped visiting Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 95-66 on Friday. His double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds came with 2 assists and 2 blocks for a performance index rating of 31, the best of Game 2.
Next, with a PIR of 29, was Deshaun Thomas of FC Bayern Munich, who starred in his team's 75-90 ambush of FC Barcelona on Thursday to even their series 1-1. Thomas buried 6 of 7 three-point shots, tied for the second-most triples downed in any playoff game over the last decade, en route to 25 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists. Following him, Sergio Rodriguez had a PIR of 27 before leaving injured in the fourth quarter from AX Armani Exchange Milan's 73-66 home win over Anadolu Efes Istanbul to tie their series 1-1. Rodriguez had 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in that game.
Danilo Andjusic posted career highs of 19 points and 26 PIR to help lead AS Monaco past host Olympiacos Piraeus 72-96 on Friday for another 1-1 series. Andjusic added 5 rebounds, as well, after not playing at all in Game 1. Fifth among the best Game 2 performers was Shavon Shields, who scored 19 of his team-high 21 points in the second half on 8-for-9 two-point shooting to power Milan to victory against Efes

Individual highs: Bryant Dunston, Efes, 4 blocks

Thomas of Bayern was Game 2's top scorer with 25 points. Vasilije Micic of Efes continues as the season-long scoring ace with 18.0 points on average. Poirier's 10 rebounds were the most in Game 2. Georgios Papagiannis of Panathinaikos OPAP Athens is the overall leader at 8.2 per game. Nick Calathes of FC Barcelona had 8 assists in Game 2 and now leads for the season, too, with 6.1 per game. Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos Piraeus, Alberto Abalde of Real and Dwayne Bacon of Monaco each had 3 steals in Game 2. John Brown of UNICS Kazan averaged 2.8 for the season to lead all players. All-time shot-blocking king Bryant Dunston of Efes added 4 to his total in Game 2, matching the most in any playoff game since the format was launched in 2005. Papagiannis and Walter Tavares of Real share the season lead with 1.7 per game. Poirier's was the only double-double recorded in Game 2.

Euroleague Basketball (EB) is a global leader in the sports and entertainment business, devoted to running the top European competitions of professional basketball clubs under a unique and innovative organizational model. Owned and administered by some of the most successful and historic clubs in the world, EB manages the continent’s two premier men’s basketball competitions, the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7DAYS EuroCup, as well as the sport’s premier under-18 showcase, the EB Adidas Next Generation Tournament.

The EB competitions bring the elite of European basketball to all five continents and to the entire sports community through the OTT platform EuroLeague TV. EB also organizes a series of community and educational activities, led by the One Team program, in alignment with the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. On the academic side, the EB Sports Business MBA trains future professionals in sports management.