By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
What could have been only a coincidence is now a certainty: the spark effect Sarunas Jasikevicius brought to the table when joining Fenerbahce continues to deliver, as the Turkish team found the sixth win in the last seven EuroLeague games, beating Partizan Belgrade with a 15-point deficit (91-76) at home after trailing even by 17 points.
Tyler Dorsey was the absolute protagonist of Fenerbahce‘s shooting night with 24 points and 5/8 from beyond the arc. “We were able to get multiple stops in the second half and get the flow on offense”, he commented in the post-game flash interview by also praising Nate Sestina. “He shot the ball well and did a lot of great things for us. I’m happy for him”, he added.
The former Turk Telekom forward ended the game with a career-high of 14 points and 4/5 from three. “They beat us in Belgrade, so it’s good to get a win here. It’s a great feeling, my teammates are helping me out. I was prepared for the opportunity”, Nate Sestina shared after the victory and the personal effort.
Nigel Hayes-Davis added 12 points and 7 rebounds, while Marko Guduric contributed to the team’s victory with 15 points. Nick Calathes had another good showing, going close to a double-double of 9 points and 7 assists. Collectively, Fenerbahce shot 51.9% (14/27) from three. “We didn’t start with the right approach. To win these kinds of games, you have to fight for every centimeter on the court. It was a great comeback for us, we must be happy”, Sarunas Jasikevicius commented after the win.
With an unusual ponytail haircut, Kevin Punter was Partizan Belgrade’s main offensive force in the first half, scoring 15 points at halftime. With the black-and-white side’s problems in the second, however, he also got colder, ending with 18 at the end of the encounter.
Former Fenerbahce player James Nunnally had 14 points with 2/3 from three and 4/4 at the charity stripe. The newcomer Jaleen Smith had 11 points, while Bruno Caboclo – the other latest addition to Zeljko Obradovic‘s team – ended with 13 points and 4 rebounds in the defeat. “In the first half we were impressive, in the second half we weren’t ready for their aggressiveness”, Zeljko Obradovic said.
He knows what it means👀@FBBasketbol is UP by 10 in the 4th quarter against Partizan!#EveryGameMatters pic.twitter.com/tA2cPYpeLw
— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) January 9, 2024
Suffering in the first half, running away in the second half
Thanks to an 8-0 scoring run midway through the first quarter, Partizan Belgrade managed to enter the second ten minutes of the game with a 12-point lead at 31-19. The Serbian side extended the gap to 17 points (36-19), but Tyler Dorsey and his teammates found themselves back in contention with another 8-0 run. Little before halftime, Nick Calathes put his team back within four points (47-43), but Sarunas Jasikevicius received a technical foul after the Greek playmaker finished at the rim in traffic.
Things got complicated when PJ Dozier was awarded a traveling violation after one of the referees got into the play, and later on, Nigel Hayes-Davis was called with an offensive foul before hitting a two-point buzzer-beater. The former Zalgiris Kaunas and Barcelona forward received the second technical foul for his team in a matter of seconds after the Lithuanian coach. Kevin Punter converted at the line to push the game at halftime with Partizan leading 48-43.
Fenerbahce started the second half by getting to a one-point deficit twice in a matter of minutes, forcing Partizan Belgrade to consecutive 24-second violations. Nate Sestina had two straight clutch three-pointers to tie things up first at 55-55 and then at 58-58, keeping the yellow-and-blue side always on the edge. For the first time since being up 8-5 in the first, Fenerbahce regained the lead at 64-62 at 1:20 on the clock thanks to Marko Guduric.
Sarunas Jasikevicius’ team entered the last and decisive fourth quarter with another three-point showdown, extending the lead to 13 points (77-64) at 8:51 left with back-to-back-to-back shots from downtown. From that moment on, it was a matter of controlling the lead for the home team, even extending the lead with a 12-0 run. Partizan Belgrade’s first points of the fourth quarter came at 5:05.
To complete the EuroLeague second straight double-game week starting 2024, Fenerbahce will play once again at home, hosting Bayern Munich on January 11 at 18:45 CET. Partizan, instead, won’t travel anymore on the road, hosting the “close” Maccabi Tel Aviv in Belgrade on January 12 at 20:30 CET.
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague