The Euroleague MVP honor for Game 3 of the Playoffs is shared by two players after Marko Jaric of Montepaschi Siena and D’or Fischer of Real Madrid both came off the bench to lead their respective teams to pivotal Playoffs victories.

Jaric scored a season-high 24 points as Montepaschi downed Olympiacos 81-72.

Fischer posted 19 points on perfect shooting as Madrid bested Power Electronics Valencia 66-75 on the road.

The two both had performance index ratings of 27, which were the best in the Euroleague in the third game of the Playoffs. Jaric did his damage in just 24 minutes, finishing the night with just a single missed shot plus 4 rebounds, an assist and a steal. Fischer tallied 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and an assist in 23 minutes on the floor.

The number of European players in the NBA has leveled out in recent years, but with an underwhelming talent pool in the United States, the European influence in the upcoming draft could be the biggest overseas rush for lottery teams in five years, maybe longer, notes NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper.

Three imports are tracking to the lottery while a fourth, who is all but a new arrival, could be the earliest off the board in a little less than three months when the draft is held in Newark, N.J.

"It isn't that the international kids are so dominant as much as it's an opportunity for them with a weaker college crop from the U.S.," one general manager confirmed.

Four are certain for the first round if they stay in the pool: Donatas Montiejunas, Jan Vesely, Jonas Valanciunas and Enes Kanter.

Real Madrid's Nikola Mirotic will enter the 2011 NBA Draft and officially declare this week.

Mirotic, who played in the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit, has had a meteoric rise this season.

Mirotic was projected as the ninth overall selection in RealGM's pre-NCAA Tournament Mock Draft.

The Magic used the 11th overall pick in the 2005 draft to select Fran Vázquez, but he ultimately decided to remain in Europe for a variety of reasons. For almost six years, the Magic have attempted to convince Vázquez to leave Europe and make the jump to the NBA.

But just when it appears that the 6-foot-10 big man is receptive to joining the Magic, a possibly daunting hurdle looms. The potential of a prolonged work stoppage after the current season might prevent the long-awaited union between Vázquez and the Magic, at least for the 11-12 season.

The Magic hypothetically could sign Vázquez after the current season ends and before the current collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of June 30. He would then receive the rookie scale salary for the year he is signed instead of the rookie scale agreed upon in the next CBA.

"In an ideal situation, we'd like to sign him," said Otis Smith. "But with the CBA, it's not in his best interest to sign a contract if there is a work stoppage. Then he misses an opportunity to play and make money, at least for a while. That's the rub."

The quarterfinal playoffs of Euroleague began on Tuesday with the first game of four best of five series. The home team won all four games.

• Regal Barcelona 83, Panathinaikos 82

• Caja Laboral 76, Maccabi Electra 70

• Real Madrid 71, Power Electronics Valencia 65

• Olympiacos 89, Montepaschi 41

Despite his team's road loss against Caja Laboral, Richard Hendrix led Maccabi with 16 points on 8-of-13 two-pointers and 16 rebounds.

His 9 defensive rebounds to go with 7 on the offensive glass amounted to highest rebounding total by any player in one game during the six-year history of the Euroleague playoffs. He added 4 blocks and 2 fouls drawn for a performance index rating of 28.

Sergio Rodriguez suffered a thigh muscle tear that will make him miss the team's best-of-five series against Power Electronics Valencia.

Rodriguez was averaging a team-high 3.3 assists and 6.9 points over the first 16 games of the Euroleague season for Madrid. His absence in the playoff series against Valencia leaves the team to rely mainly on veteran Pablo Prigioni at point guard, although combo guard Sergio Llull can also share ball-handling duties.

Sherron Collins has signed with Lietruvos Rytas of Lithuania.

Collins will replace the injured Khalid El-Emin, who is out for the next six months.

Omri Casspi told Israel's Army Radio Thursday that that he would consider rejoining Maccabi Tel Aviv if the league and the players' union do not come to a new agreement by the June 30 expiration of the collective bargaining agreement.

Although Casspi is under contract with the Kings, he would be allowed to play abroad in the event of a lockout, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Ricky Rubio said on Tuesday that a lockout would be an "important" factor in making his decision on whether to come to the NBA for the 11-12 season, although Rubio could choose to sign with the Wolves this spring before the league's current collective bargaining agreement expires rather than risk terms of a new deal.

If he decided to leave for the NBA, he said that after his season is over he'll talk to his current club "and the NBA club, which right now is Minnesota."

"The sooner he gets over here, the quicker he's going to adapt and the better he's going to get," Kevin Love said. "He has had a lot of hype surrounding him. It'll mean a lot for the fans. It'll make the game more exciting. By the way he was talking about it, he does want to come over here and I do think he'll play for our team.

"If not, it'll be tough. I would love to play with him. I think he will come over and play here. I definitely think he'll play here."