Hosts retained their perfect record in Istanbul thanks to big fourth quarter.
Besiktas fends off Hamburg, 90-78

Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul remained on the heels of the top teams in Group A as it ground out a 90-78 home victory over winless Veolia Towers Hamburg. Besiktas improved to 5-1 - and 4-0 at home - after a 21-8 deciding run in the fourth quarter of a game that featured 20 lead changes and 14 ties.
Angel Delgado collected his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds to pace six Besiktas scorers in double figures. Derek Needham scored 15 points with 4 assists, Jonah Mathews had 12 points and Kerem Konan, Matt Mitchell and Yigit Arslan all chipped in 10 points. Hamburg is still looking for its first victory at 0-6 despite Aleksander Dziewa scoring 21 points and VJ King contributing 14 points.
Both teams were on fire at the start
The offenses started on fire with the teams scoring on 10 of the first 11 combined possessions and Besiktas leading 11-10 after 4 minutes and Needham scoring 5 points for the hosts. King had 7 points at the other end including a three-pointer to make it 13-15. The back and forth continued with Konan scoring 8 points - already doubling his previous scoring high - for a 25-24 lead. That was the score after 10 minutes which included 10 lead changes and 9 ties.
The big men take center stage
The Besiktas offense struggled to score early in the second quarter and saw Hamburg lead 25-28 nearly 3 minutes into the frame. But Hamburg could not handle Delgado as the Besiktas big man moved to 6 fouls drawn, and Besiktas finally scored again with a 7-0 run over 4 minutes for a 32-28 cushion. Two Hamburg three-pointers evened the game at 34-34 and the guests were back ahead 39-40 with Dziewa at 13 points. Besiktas answered with the next 6 points and led 48-42 for the biggest lead of the first half, which ended with Hamburg down 48-44.
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Besiktas scored the first 3 points of the second half for a 51-44 advantage. Aljami Durham connected on a three-pointer to pull Hamburg within 53-49 only to have Needham answer from deep at the other end and Mitchell extended the cushion to 58-49. Hamburg would not go away and took the lead on Lukas Meisner’s three-pointer for 62-63. And Hamburg led 64-65 after 30 minutes.
The fourth quarter was all Besiktas
Delgado continued to bully his way against Hamburg with a three-point play to give Besiktas back the lead. The hosts’ defense managed some defensive stops and Arslan and Needham drained triples and Delgado added a free throw for a 78-69 cushion with 6 minutes left. Besiktas finally notched its first double-digit lead with Needham hitting his fourth triple to make it 83-72 with under 4 minutes remaining. Mathews downed the dagger triple with 2 minutes to go and Besiktas up 88-75.