The American guard broke the 30-point mark for the third time in the last five games.
Tyrone Wallace came up big as Turk Telekom downed Lietkabelis
Article
3 Mins read
Turk Telekom Ankara is on the brink of making the BKT EuroCup Playoffs after a nightmare start to the season. And a major reason behind its surge up the standings is Tyrone Wallace stepping up his game, with his latest impressive performance coming in an important win over 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys.
Wallace poured in 31 points in Turk Telekom’s 88-73 victory, which improved the Turkish side to a 7-9 record after six wins in the last seven games. The American guard was big all game for the home side and matched his career high in scoring.
“I was able to get it going. I got a couple of buckets early, so I felt good going into the second half and then coming out and understanding that it’s a big game,” said Wallace, who knocked down 3 three-pointers to go along with 7 rebounds, 3 rebounds and 2 steals for a career-best PIR of 39.
“I think good players make big plays when the team needs it most. I just go out there and try to help my team to get a win.”
Stepping up at the right time
That is all Turk Telekom seems to be doing at the moment with Wallace leading the way. The 29-year-old, who played with Paris Basketball in the EuroCup last season, has scored 30 points or more in three of his last five games. At the most crucial time of the season, Wallace has come up big.
Wallace’s perimeter defense was just as important as his scoring in the win over Lietkabelis. The Lithuanian guests came into the game as the number one three-point shooting team in the competition at 40.4%. But Lietkabelis made just 9-of-29 from long range on Wednesday evening for 31.0%.
Turk Telekom, meanwhile, made 40.0% on three-pointers against the fourth-worst three-point shooting defense in the EuroCup.
Lietkabelis did do a good job holding Turk Telekom to just 6 offensive rebounds as it came into the game ranked second in that category. But Turk Telekom actually outscored Lietkabelis on second-chance points, 11-10, even though the guests grabbed 11 offense rebounds.