By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Partizan Belgrade came back from down 15 points and beat Fenerbahce Beko 85 – 84 at home to bounce back to EuroLeague wins, improving to 3-4. The Turkish side dropped to 5-2.
The game was a thriller down the stretch after Partizan erased a 39 – 54 first-half deficit to tie the score at 73 with 6:19 remaining. The two teams traded buckets and leads when Alen Smailagic took advantage of a bad defensive transition by Fener to score for the 83 – 82.
Yam Madar missed the jumper and, on the other end, Danilo Andjusic hit free throws to make it 85 – 82 with 11 seconds to play. Scottie Wilbekin scored quickly and some bad communication between P.J. Dozier and Kaminsky led to the turnover and gave Fener a chance to win the game. Tyler Dorsey missed in a long-range attempt and the hosts emerged victorious.
Two halves, two pictures
“It’s an emotional high,” Kaminsky said on his feelings after this big victory. He scored 11 out of his team-high 15 points in the last eight minutes. “For the way we played in the first half and the way we played in the second half, it was like two completely different teams. In the second half, we made all the plays we needed to make, we had a lot of energy and when you play at home in front of these fans you feed off their energy.”
Alen Smailagic and Nunnally added 13 points apiece for Partizan. “We just played hard in defense and smart on offense [in the last minutes],” Smailagic commented. “We had a few mistakes but luckily we finished many possessions with the basket.”
“We talked in halftime that we need trust ourselves and play much better defense,” Partizan coach Zeljko Obradovic said. “Congratulations to players and the incredible fans that supported us throughout the whole game.”
Nigel Hayes-Davis had 21 points in the first half and during Fenerbahce’s most dominant stretch in the game, finishing with 23 points along with six rebounds. Dorsey dropped 18 points for a Fenerbahce squad that was missing key players Marko Guduric, Nick Calathes, Dyshawn Pierre and Sertac Sanli.
“A lot of turnovers, eight in the second half,” Fener coach Dimitris Itoudis said. “Due to aggressive defense, some calls we didn’t get. It was a very interesting game to watch. I think we managed to have control despite the fact that we were under pressure. It’s not always the end of the game that decides the outcome, not one-two plays, it’s how you arrive at those one-two plays. Congratulations to Partizan.”
Photo: Partizan Belgrade