Bayern beaten 81:80 at the buzzer

That hurts: In literally the final second, Bayern Basketball lost a gripping thriller to Efes Istanbul, 80:81 (39:26). After a strong first half, the defense could no longer contain the visitors’ high-profile guards - 55 second-half points from Efes proved too much, dashing any lingering hopes of sneaking back into the postseason race. In front of nearly 10.000 fans at the SAP Garden, Swider drained a three at the buzzer - Efes’s first lead of the night - after a costly Munich turnover with 19 seconds to play.

Before resuming EuroLeague action against Dubai a week from Thursday, there’s a revenge matchup in the easyCredit BBL at cup winners Bamberg. Tip-off is Sunday at 6 p.m. (Dyn).

Boxscore

Up 42:26 shortly after the break

Bayern started brightly. Lucic knocked down two threes and Gabriel battled inside (12:4), while returning Nick Weiler-Babb was still feeling his way around the Munich rims. Efes’s individual quality then gradually came to the fore, as Bayern’s offense stopped producing (17:17/11).

McCormack injected fresh energy, scoring six points to make it 28:18 (14). Hollatz added five against his former team, Bayern rebounded well, and—without needing a barrage from deep (5/17) – took a comfortable lead into halftime.

After the break, the visitors fought back and soon had an open three for a potential 38:42 (13). Bayern were a half-step late on defense and the game was back in the balance. The crowd lifted the hosts, and McCormack’s and-one briefly restored a double-digit cushion - 53:43 (26).

A costly turnover 19 seconds from time

But the Efes guards dug in on defense, and Lee hammered home a dunk to make it 58:53 to the Turks heading into the final quarter. When Istanbul even cut it to 56:58, Voigtmann and Jessup answered from outside. Still, it remained razor-tight despite Mayes’s scoring and Voigtmann’s two-way impact: 74:74 with just over three minutes to play.

After Dimitrijevic hit two of three free throws for 80:76, Mayes (15 points) committed a turnover. On the final possession, Efes top scorer Loyd (20) attacked; his late kick-out set up the three that sealed what felt like an avoidable defeat for Bayern.

Quotes:

Svetislav Pesic, head coach, FC Bayern Basketball: “It was a game of two halves. In the second, we didn’t play at the level we wanted. We couldn’t find solutions on offense against Efes’s very aggressive defense. They made nine threes after halftime, which is how we lost despite having better percentages overall. As usual, the third quarter was decisive; after that it was a different game. They came out of the locker room with a lot of energy. In the end it’s tough — we didn’t play a bad game. (…) We have other options on offense and actually had everything under control at the end. But playing one-on-five is definitely not good. You also have to say that X (Rathan-Mayes) had a good game. The turnover can happen — nobody is perfect. But when that decides a tight game, we have to run our offensive system through to the end when we have the ball; with that much dribbling it’s difficult. They did it on the last possession: one guy penetrated, forced help, and then the ball went to the corner. That’s what we wanted to do as well. (…) Of course, we have to learn from this situation now. (…) Our chances (of the Play-Ins) haven’t been great for a long time after those eight straight losses. Now it’s no longer in our hands. But nothing is over yet.”

Johannes Voigtmann: “We made too many defensive mistakes in the second half. Efes moved the ball well and hit their open shots, unlike in the first half. It also felt like we had too many turnovers, and that’s how you lose a game like this. Early on we had good energy and played at a high level, very physical, with a lot of fouls as well. In the second half it slipped away from us both defensively and offensively — and that’s how you can let a 16-point lead disappear.”