By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Nigel Hayes-Davis scored 27 points, Nicolo Melli and Tarik Biberovic followed with 16 points each and Fenerbahce couldn’t be stopped at Belgrade.
The Turkish contenders got the 96-91 win and moved to a 13-7 record, having played one game less and the second spot of the standings, while Zvezda dropped to 12-9, on a tie between the 6th and the 10th position of the standings.
Newcomer Errick McCollum also made his presence felt with seven points and one assist as Fenerbahce got 17/35 threes.
“I am a broken record for saying that the goal in a EuroLeague season is always trying to get better as the season goes on and hopefully we can win games as we do it”, said Hayes-Davis after the final buzzer adding: “I think tonight we made a better step forward offensively and we can always work on defense”.
The Serbs got 23 points from Codi Miller-McIntyre and 17 points from Isaiah Canaan, while Milos Teodosic returned to action with five points.
With the game seemingly out of reach, Zvezda closed the night on an 11-4 run in the last two minutes which was not enough to steal the game.
An offensive show by Fenerbahce
The hosts were hot with Zvezda taking a 24-21 lead after the first quarter. Melli tied the score at 24 at the start of the second and with him making his fourth three of the game, Fenerbahce gained a 36-31 advantage.
Biberovic added two more points (38-31) and even though Zvezda closed the gap to three (41-38), the halftime score was 49-43 for Fenerbahce.
The story changed in the second half with Fenerbahce dominating with a 14-3 run and extending the lead to 17 points (63-46) with Melli and Hayes-Davis firing at will.
Zvezda reacted and with Canaan scoring 10 points in two minutes closed the gap to eight points (66-58). At the end of the third, thanks to a buzzer-beating three by Miller-McIntyre, Zvezda trailed by nine (70-61) and still had hope.
Nigel Hayes-Davis opened the last quarter with a three (73-61), Biberovic followed (76-63) and Fenerbahce managed to keep their distance until the end.
To be exact, the guests led again by 14 (87-73), relaxed a bit more than expected after having a 92-80 advantage entering the last two minutes and with 17 seconds left, Zvezda made it a three-point game (94-91). It was, however, too late with Marko Guduric (11 p.) making two free throws and sealing the deal.
Photo credit: EuroLeague