Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul put its stingy defense on display in shutting down the No. 1 offense in the BKT EuroCup and defeating Paris Basketball on Tuesday.

Bestiktas's win over Paris was a tale of defense over offense 

The old adage in sports goes: offense wins games but defense wins championships. Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul put its stingy defense on display in shutting down the No. 1 offense in the BKT EuroCup and defeating Paris Basketball.

Besiktas fought back from 12 points down and limited the vaunted Paris attack to 23 second-half points in a 63-68 victory, which was also the French side’s first loss.

Paris came into the game averaging a league-high 101.1 points and a top-ranked performance index rating of 120.7. Coach Tuomas Iisalo’s team had topped the century mark five times in seven games. Its season low in scoring was 81 points against Umana Reyer Venice.

Unfortunately for Paris, Besiktas entered the game with a pretty strong defense, conceding only 73.9 points per game - the fourth-fewest in the competition.

“When you keep this team to (63) points at home - the best offensive team which is averaging more than 100 points per game - this is really something. This is a team win. Congratulations to my players They really made a big sacrifice for this team win,” said Besiktas head coach Dusan Alimpijevic.

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Paris managed a PIR of just 68 while converting only 34.3% on two-pointers - drastically lower than its average shooting of 58.7% coming into the game. Paris also registered just 7 assists - 13.9 fewer than its average - and committed 13 turnovers - 3.7 more than its league fewest 9.3 entering the game.

The result leaves Paris at 7-1 and Besiktas with a 6-2 record in an extremely difficult Group A. That fact was not lost on Alimpijevic.

“Our group is very difficult and very tough. We have a lot of candidates in the group to win the EuroCup without disrespecting the other group,” the coach said. “In our group, every win is so important.”

The win was also very important for Besiktas as the team was coming off an 80-83 home loss to London Lions last week.

“This is something to be very proud about. But this just shows the work we put in this week, and a lot of concentration,” said Matt Mitchell, who scored a team-high 16 points for Besiktas.

“Coming back off that loss to London last week - trying to show something for that. Just knowing that we can compete with the best of these teams in this league. And we feel we are one of the best teams in this league. We came out here and showed that.”

With one of the best defenses in the league.

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On the road in the French capital, Besiktas hounded the EuroCup's top-ranked attack. 

Paris Basketball v Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul (2023-11-21T20:00:00.000Z)

Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul showed its class in the BKT EuroCup by slowing down Paris Basketball 63-68 on the road to hand the French side its first loss in the competition. 

Besiktas slows down Paris, 63-68, hands Group A leader first loss 

Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul showed its class in the BKT EuroCup by slowing down Paris Basketball 63-68 on the road to hand the French side its first loss in the competition. Besiktas came back from 12 points down and used its stellar defense to hold Paris to just 23 second-half points to improve to 6-2. Matt Mitchell led the way with 16 points and Yigit Arslan had 15 points. Paris dropped to 7-1 and tasted defeat for the first time despite TJ Shorts scoring 22 points and Nadir Hifi picking up 19 points.

Besiktas needed more than 2 minutes to finally score but gave up only 2 points to the hosts. It was still only 4-3 after 4 minutes as neither side could really find any offensive rhythm. Leyton Hammonds’s second score put Besiktas ahead 4-7 as Paris was held scoreless for more than 2 minutes, and the score went to 5-9. Five quick points from Hifi put Paris back ahead and started a run of four lead changes. Sebastian Herrera had a three-point play in building an 18-13 cushion. It was 20-15 after 10 minutes. 

### Hifi helps Paris build a promising lead

Leon Kratzer hit a hook shot and the advantage grew to 23-15. Derek Needham responded with back-to-back triples to bring the guests within 25-21 but the Besiktas veteran point guard was called for his third foul. Shorts punched back with free throws and a three-pointer as Paris went up 30-21. Besiktas temporarily shut down Paris with 4 straight points over nearly 3 minutes to trim the gap. Hifi answered with 2 three-pointers and Paris took its first double-digit lead at 38-27. Paris went into the locker room ahead 40-31.

### Arslan leads Besiktas comeback

Shorts extended the lead to 12 points - 44-32 - early in the third quarter. The home side has been known all season for its offense but Paris limited Besiktas to just 3 points in the first 6 minutes of the second half and led 46-35. Besiktas refused to go away with Arslan hitting 2 three-pointers and Mitchell making 6 free throws in a 2-12 run over the final 6:23 minutes of the third quarter to pull within 48-47.

###  Visitors take control late

Mitchell started the fourth quarter with a three-point play to put Besiktas back ahead 48-50. Shorts stepped up for Paris with an and-one of his own and the hosts led 53-52. Arslan answered with a runner and three-pointer and Besiktas went up 53-59. Bandja Sy knocked down a triple and Paris was within 58-59 only to have Needham bury another triple and Angel Delgado made it 58-64. Hifi and Collin Malcolm scored as Paris trimmed it to a 1-point game. Arslan continued his outstanding second half with 2 free throws as Besiktas held a 63-66 advantage. Tyson Ward missed a three-pointer with 45 seconds remaining and Mitchell drained 2 more foul shots for a 63-68 Besiktas cushion with 24 seconds to go to ice the game.

The visitors trailed by 12 in the third quarter before roaring back. 

Ten of the 11 Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse players who stepped onto the floor on Tuesday night against Turk Telekom Ankara scored at least 3 points to lead the visitors to their fifth win in five home games this term by beating the Turkish side 86-67. 

Collective effort led Bourg to victory over Turk Telekom

Ten of the 11 Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse players who stepped onto the floor on Tuesday night against Turk Telekom Ankara scored at least 3 points to lead the visitors to their fifth win in five home games this term by beating the Turkish side 86-67. Bourg circulated the ball smoothly in the first half and found several open looks from behind the arc. The hosts shot 9-for-19 (47.4%) from downtown before the break and the fact that they made 9 triples to 6 two-pointers (6-for-13, 46.2%) is mostly courtesy of the way they shared the ball.

“When we share the ball on offense, we try to find the player who is open,” Bourg head coach Frederic Fauthoux said after the game. “Then, when we find him, it’s some great basketball.”

Three of its five starters may have registered double-digits in scoring, but Tuesday’s victory was the product of some huge collective effort by the team. In fact, Bourg’s bench outscored the starters 52-34 and 6 players dished at least 2 assists each on the night.

“It’s a very important win against a good team which has very good individual players,” Fauthoux added. “Tonight, we saw a collective victory and for me, this is the most important thing.”

Despite trailing by 18 points (43-25) heading into the second half, Turk Telekom bounced back by scoring more points (26) in the third quarter than they managed in the first half. The Turkish side’s heroic comeback made it a one-possession game (54-51) ahead of the closing quarter, but Bourg saw their backup players step up to seal the victory.

Steven Enoch took his tally to 19 points to cut the deficit to 58-55 with 7:32 to go, but bench players scored a total of 15 points in the next 4 minutes to practically finish the game off. E.J. Rowland sank a bucket before Maksim Salash netted back-to-back baskets. Then, Axel Julien drilled a couple of triples and Jequan Lewis made 2 important free-throws to give Bourg a 71-51 lead to practically put the game to bed heading into crunch time.

“We didn’t do well in the beginning of the second half, because we let them come back,” Kevin Kokila, who paired his 10 points with 9 rebounds, said after the game. “But we have a strong and tough team and we know how to bounce back after a bad start. These last two wins at home are very good for the team’s chemistry.”

On Wednesday, November 29, Bourg will play at ratiopharm Ulm in Round 9 and the French side will look to build on Tuesday’s victory by potentially grabbing its second road win of the season. 

The hosts reserves outscored their starters 52-34.  

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse v Turk Telekom Ankara (2023-11-21T18:30:00.000Z)

A mature approach made the difference as Wolves Vilnius (4-3) stayed in complete control against Veolia Towers Hamburg (1-7) throughout their 71-84 road win against the German side in Round 8 of the BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

Wolves Vilnius thrived on superior shot selection at hasty Hamburg

A mature approach made the difference as Wolves Vilnius (4-3) stayed in complete control against Veolia Towers Hamburg (1-7) throughout their 71-84 road win against the German side in Round 8 of the BKT EuroCup.

The result kept Wolves firmly in the Group A playoff picture and it also piled the pressure on Hamburg. The visitors never looked back after romping into an early 0-15 lead, having built their advantage on a superb shot selection while forcing Hamburg to rush their own perimeter attempts.

By the end of the first quarter, with Wolves 16-24 ahead, the visitors thoroughly dominated every department. They shot 9 of 17 from the floor with Hamburg making 5 of 18. Wolves also had more assists (6-2) and rebounds (14-9) and that set the tone for the rest of the contest.

“We made a poor start as a 0-15 deficit is tough to overcome in the EuroCup,” Hamburg’s head coach Benka Barloschky said at the post-game press conference. “We cut their lead to 4 points and had a chance to turn it around, but the shots didn’t fall tonight and in the second half, defensive rebounding was our biggest problem,” he added.

Whenever Hamburg looked remotely capable of turning the tide, Wolves came up with patient offense and an extra pass which left either the perimeter shooters with an open look or big men in the paint unmarked.

Wolves were 4 of 8 from three-point range at halftime and 17 of 29 in total from the floor, while they finished the contest out-rebounding the home team 42-34 and dishing out more assists (20-16).

Hamburg was just 8 of 25 from three-point range, with sharpshooter Lukas Meisner enduring a tough night as he made only 1 of 6 shots from downtown and 1 of 5 from inside the arc.

“Great win for us, we knew it wouldn’t be an easy game,” said Wolves head coach Kestutis Kemzura. ”Hamburg doesn’t have big stars but they play with a lot of passion. They are great shooters and they attack the boards well. We were very focused, controlled the boards and kept them at bay throughout.”

In Round 9, Wolves are at home to London Lions in what should be a spectacular clash, while Hamburg visits Umana Reyer Venice.

Patient offense allowed the visitors to build an unassailable lead early in the game.

Wolves thrived on superior shot selection at hasty Hamburg

Veolia Towers Hamburg v Wolves Vilnius (2023-11-21T18:30:00.000Z)

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica returned to winning ways by downing Dolomiti Energia Trento 98-96 in overtime in Group B on Tuesday and defense and second-half three-point shooting are what allowed Buducnost to get the victory.

Buducnost's outside shooting was key against Trento

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica returned to winning ways by downing Dolomiti Energia Trento 98-96 in overtime in Group B on Tuesday and defense and second-half three-point shooting are what allowed Buducnost to get the victory.

The hosts buried 3 of 7 three-point shots in the first half. Buducnost took many more shots from beyond the arc after the break and in overtime, making 8 of 16 three-pointers (50%) to finish the game with 11-of-23 shooting (47.8%).

On the other hand, Trento took 41 three-point attempts and made 15 of them, a new club record in both categories. Trento had previously made 14 three-pointers against Dominion Bilbao Basket on December 16, 2015, and had never attempted more than 37 shots from beyond the arc. Trento took 12 more attempts from downtown (41) than inside the arc (29). 

The teams combined for a EuroCup record: 5 three-pointers in the overtime period.

Taking better care of the ball was one of the biggest keys to the game. Buducnost finished the game with 17 assists and just 9 turnovers. Trento had fewer assists, 16, and more turnovers, 15. Nine of those came in the second half and overtime.

Buducnost made 23 free throws, its biggest mark in the EuroCup since January 2022. Trento had a better percentage (88.2% FT) than its opponent (82.1%) but only went to the line 17 times to Buducnost's 28.

Andrej Zakelj helped Buducnost stop a four-game winning streak in his first BKT EuroCup game as head coach. 

Telling numbers: Buducnost's outside shooting was key

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2023-11-21T18:00:00.000Z)

Wolves Vilnius improved their record to 4-3 in BKT EuroCup Group A after breezing to a 71-84 win at Veolia Towers Hamburg in a one-sided Round 8 clash. 

Wolves Vilnius sink Hamburg, 71-84, to stay on playoff course

Wolves Vilnius improved their record to 4-3 in BKT EuroCup Group A after breezing to a 71-84 win at Veolia Towers Hamburg in a one-sided Round 8 clash. The Lithuanian side led from start to finish and Hamburg, which dropped to 1-7, never threatened to turn the game around after falling behind 0-15 early on.

Djordje Gagic, Tre’Shawn Thurman and Kristupas Zemaitis led a balanced effort for Wolves with 14 points each. Regimantas Minotas chipped in with an impressive double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds, as the visitors racked up 45 boards of which 17 were offensive. They also dished out 20 assists to underline a flowing team effort at both ends of the court.

Mark Hughes paced a misfiring Hamburg with 14 points, V.J. King scored 13 and Seth Hinrichs added 11 for the home side, which shot 8 of 25 from three-point range and 15 of 39 from inside the arc.

### Wolves riot out of the gate

Rampant Wolves roared into a 0-15 lead, with Hamburg netting its first shot from the floor with 5:43 minutes left in the first quarter. The visitors did damage in the paint time and again while Hamburg was forced into a barrage of tough perimeter shots in the first quarter. 

The hosts stepped up their defense and slashed the deficit to 20-24 early in the second, but Wolves were soon able to pull away on the back of a 0-8 run and stayed in cruise control to lead 37-47 at halftime.

### Hamburg's rally was not enough

Hamburg cut the deficit to 46-52 early in the third but that was as good as it got for the hosts, as the visitors conjured a 10-2 streak to put the game out of the home team’s reach. Hamburg fought hard to stay in touch, but whenever it looked capable of closing in, Wolves hit a timely perimeter shot to stay in the driving seat. It was lights out for Hamburg after Wolves extended their advantage to 57-73 early in the fourth and they closed out the game in second gear to move up the standings.

The visitors strolled to a comfortable win as they led throughout the lopsided contest.

Wolves sink Hamburg, 71-84, to stay on playoff course

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse remained undefeated at Ekinox this season by beating Turk Telekom Ankara 86-67 on Tuesday night. 

Bourg beats Turk Telekom, 86-67, to remain unbeaten at home

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse remained undefeated at Ekinox this season by beating Turk Telekom Ankara 86-67 on Tuesday night. The hosts outscored the Turkish side 43-25 in the first half and managed to clinch the victory in the last quarter despite a heroic comeback by the visitors. With the win, Bourg improved to 6-2 this season, while Turk Telekom dropped to 1-6.

Jeremy Morgan paced Bourg with 17 points, Isiaha Mike and Axel Julien scored 12 each and Isiaha Mike added 10. Kevin Kokila paired his 10 points with 9 rebounds. James Palmer and Steven Enoch netted a game-high 19 points each, with the latter also recording 10 rebounds. Okben Ulubay recorded 11 points after shooting 3-for-5 from behind the arc.

### Hosts take control early

Enoch opened the scoring with an early bucket before Morgan and Mike responded with a triple each. Then, Kevin Kokila netted a put-back basket and Morgan threw down a slam for a 10-0 run that gave Bourg a 10-2 lead midway through the first quarter. Kokila scored 4 quick points and Bryce Brown drilled a deep three-point shot for a 17-2 Bourg cushion. Palmer’s jump shot ended the French side’s momentum, but Brown nailed another triple and E.J. Rowland opened his account with a layup as the hosts took a 22-8 lead into the second quarter.

Turk Telekom responded with a 0-9 surge, with Tyrone Wallace grabbing his first 2 points of the night before Palmer and Ulubay sank a triple each. Bourg was held scoreless for more than 3 minutes, but Zaccharie Risacher made 2 from the line to make it 24-17. Morgan and Mike drilled a triple apiece to restore a double-digit lead for the hosts, 32-21. Then, a couple of Morgan three-pointers and another triple by Rowland gave Bourg a 43-25 lead heading into halftime.

### Turk Telekom puts together spirited comeback

Morgan responded to Enoch’s early basket with his fifth three-pointer of the night, but the Turk Telekom center drilled a triple of his own and Ulubay netted another one from downtown to bring the visitors within 48-35. Palmer scored his first bucket of the second half to take his tally to 11 points, but then his head coach, Selcuk Ernak, was ejected after receiving his second technical foul of the night with 3:21 to go in the third quarter. Ulubay nailed one from downtown and Yigitcan Saybir scored a bucket to allow Turk Telekom to cut the difference to single digits, 51-45. Back-to-back Ulubay triples brought the visitors within 53-51.

Kokila and Rowland scored a basket each in the opening stages of the last quarter, but Palmer responded with a mid-range bucket, 58-53. Maksim Salash netted a couple of scores before Palmer sank a triple to take his tally to 18 points against his former team and trim the deficit to 62-58. Julien scored his third triple of the season and Jequan Lewis made 2 from the charity stripe to restore a double-digit lead, 68-58, with 4:32 left on the clock. Saybir and Julien exchanged three-pointers before Mike and Risacher scored a bucket each to give Bourg a 76-62 lead and practically put the game to bed with a couple of minutes to go.

The result gives Bourg a share of second place in Group B.

Reigning BKT EuroCup champ Dreamland Gran Canaria had 9 steals in the second half alone against U-BT Cluj-Napoca to turn a 2-point halftime lead into a comfortable 70-92 victory. 

Gran Canaria flexed on defense to blast Cluj 

Dreamland Gran Canaria came into Tuesday's road came at U-BT Cluj-Napoca averaging 8 steals per game. The reigning BKT EuroCup champs had 9 steals in the second half alone to turn a 2-point halftime lead into a comfortable 70-92 victory.

"We are satisfied, especially with our defensive work in the second half," Coach Jaka Lakovic of Gran Canaria said. "We stopped their transition, we rebounded the ball well and… on offense we created great things for ourselves, especially Sylven \[Landesberg\] was hot and we kept going to him."

Landesberg led all scorers with 26 points, of which 15 came in the game's final 10 minutes.

Sylven Landesberg led the way for Dreamland Gran Canaria with 26 points against U-BT Cluj-Napoca in Round 8.

Sylven Landesberg scored 26 points at Cluj-Napoca

"Unfortunately in the fourth quarter we didn't manage to stop them, especially Landesberg, who had a very good fourth quarter and he scored everything," Coach Mihai Silvasan added. "The difference was our 24 turnovers. That’s a lot if you want to win a game in the EuroCup… We stayed with them for three quarters... We fought. We should have had some more courage in some moments."

Gran Canaria totaled 13 steals and scored 30 points off of Cluj's turnovers. Andrew Albicy led the visiting defense with 4 steals and Roko Prkacin and Ben Lammers had 3 each. All of Albicy's steals came in the second half.

After Cluj scored 43 points in the first half, Gran Canaria clamped it down to 11 in the third quarter and 16 in the fourth. The excellent perimeter defense saw Cluj shoot 2 for 11 from behind the arc in the last two quarters.

Overall, it was Gran Canaria's third-best defensive effort in terms of points allowed this season and the margin of victory was its second highest. In all of last season, the club held opponents to 70 points or less only four times and had a margin of victory of at least 20 once – in the semifinals against Paris Basketball.

Gran Canaria is already ahead of that pace and now it has a two-win gap atop Group B. Could it become the first team to ever successfully defend the EuroCup crown?

Over the final 16 minutes on Tuesday, the visitors romped 19-40. 

U-BT Cluj-Napoca v Dreamland Gran Canaria (2023-11-21T17:00:00.000Z)

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica snapped a four-game losing streak in Group B by beating Dolomiti Energia Trento 98-96 in overtime on in the Montenegrin capital on Tuesday. Both teams now have 3-5 records.

Yoan Makoundou paced the winners with 23 points and 8 rebounds. McKinley Wright added 22 points, Fletcher Magee scored 14 while Andrija Grbovic had 10 for Buducnost. Prentis Hubb led Trento with 25 points. Andrejs Grazulis netted 22 points and Kamar Baldwin scored 11 for the visitors.

### Grazulis stepped up early

Grazulis got Trento going with a three-pointer and a floater for a 2-5 lead. He got help from Quinn Ellis and Paul Biligha to make it a double-digit game, 6-17. Wright and Makoundou rescued Buducnost and Magee's layup brought the hosts within 16-20. Toto Forray and Magee traded layups and Ross's step-back jumper fixed the score at 20-22 after 10 minutes.

### A back and forth battle

JaCorey Williams scored down low to complete Buducnost's comeback, 24-22, early in the second quarter. Trento found a new go-to guy in Hubb, who scored 8 quick points, prompting Buducnost to call timeout at 26-30. Grbovic buried back-to-back triples to put the hosts back in charge, 38-35. Ellis and Biligha allowed Trento to gain a 44-45 edge at halftime.

### Ross extended Trento's lead

Magee opened the second half with a wild four-point play. Biligha kept pacing Trento, joining forces with Mattia Udom and Myles Stephens for a 50-56 lead. Makoundou took over with a three-pointer, a layup and a dunk but Ross kept Trento in charge, 61-65, after 30 minutes.

### Wright, Makoundou saved the day

Grazulis struck from downtown and added an off-balance three-point play to give Trento fresh air at 66-73. Makoundou and Wright fueled an 8-0 run that Magee capped with a long jumper for a 77-75 Buducnost lead with over 4 minutes left. Baldwin stepped up with a put-back basket and Ross hit a triple, good for a 78-80 Trento edge. Wright hit free throws and Makoundou bettered Biligha's dunk with a three-pointer for an 83-82 Buducnost edge with a minute to go. Grazulis answered from beyond the arc and Wright scored in penetration to force overtime.

### Buducnost returned to winning ways

Marvin Jones and Wright put Buducnost ahead, 88-85, early in overtime. Ross, Wright, Forray and Brandon Paul each made a three-pointer, then Popovic's driving layup boosted the hosts' lead to 96-91 in the next-to-last minute. Ross singlehandedly brought Trento within 98-96 with 37.7 seconds left. Wright missed but Baldwin drew a foul with 4.0 seconds. He missed both attempts, the second on purpose, allowing Buducnost to seal a big win.

The Montenegrin champs triumphed in new head coach Andrej Zakelj's first game on the bench. 