Raise your hand if, witnessing the second half of Shavon Shields in Game 2, you did not think about the famous fourth quarter of Game 6 of the 2018 Italian league championship final. He was demon-possessed in the same way. He scored 19 points out of his 21, but he had also eight rebounds, and an incredible +20 of plus / minus. “Shields had a heavy injury, he was out for three months, this was his best game since he came back. When he came here from Vitoria, coming off two good seasons, he was not yet the clutch player we hoped he could become and he has become,” Coach Ettore Messina said at the end. Everything changed in Shields’ offensive performance (defensively he had already been supreme in the early part of the game) at the end of the first half. With Efes two points ahead and possession, the defense erected a wall, Micic slammed into Kaleb Tarczewski, Shields took control of the ball and off he went on offense. Surrounded by three defenders he had to take an almost impossible shot, six meters far from the basket, but he made it. The referees asked to check it on video. It was good. From that moment on, Shields changed pace and in the second half he was irresistible.

These were his first five minutes of the third period, before a foul on Tibor Pleiss, his third, brought him back to the bench prematurely: three-pointer (36-33), defensive rebound, a foul received, two-pointer (38-35), defensive rebound, two-pointer (40-35), defensive rebound, two-pointer (42-35). In all, he scored nine points (3/3 from two, 1/1 from three), got three defensive rebounds, was fouled once and was +7.

This is his fourth quarter: two-pointer (55-52), 1-from-2 from the line to return within one, two-pointer (61-63), defensive rebound, assist for Bentil’s three (64-63), assist for Hall’s three (67-66), two-pointer (69-66), defensive rebound, two-pointer and one to end the game. In all, he scored 10 points (4/5 from two, 0/1 from three, 2-for-3 from the line), had two rebounds and two assists.

“We regrouped – he said after the game – we fought much harder, and we won. We need to have this next man up mentality, because with injuries and stuff we were unlucky, but we are still a team, and we want to stay together. Now we have to think about win one in Istanbul and get the most out of what’s left.”