The 29-year-old beat Shane Larkin’s previous record by scoring 50 points in Round 32
Journey to history: How Nigel Hayes-Davis broke the single-game scoring record, twice
Nigel Hayes-Davis felt it could be a productive night as his Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul side prepared to face ALBA Berlin on Friday evening. And it sure was.
“I had it written in my notes at the beginning of the season that I wanted to break the scoring record this year,” Hayes-Davis said after his 50-point outing.
He felt that this could be a special night.
"I didn’t know I was going to score 50, I just knew I was going to shoot the ball a lot,” Hayes revealed to the TV cameras afterward, all while holding on to the game ball.
From the very first to the very last Fenerbahce possession in the game, Hayes-Davis was dropping buckets. He opened the scoring and had 18 points in the first quarter, had 21 at the break, then bagged 15 points in the third quarter and 14 points in the fourth.
His record-setting bucket came with 18 seconds to go after he received the ball in Fenerbahce's half of the court, only to slalom through ALBA's defense, which was eager to prevent him from getting the record.
"I’m very proud of myself and the work and everything I put in,” Hayes-Davis commented, carefully choosing his words.
On this historic night, he made 9 of 11 two-pointers and knocked down 9 triples – one shy of the EuroLeague’s all-time record – on 16 attempts. Both figures were his personal bests in five EuroLeague seasons and 165 career games.
A misunderstanding that almost had consequences
But the scoring record, no matter how hot Hayes-Davis was, almost never happened because at halftime, he was mistakenly told the record was 41 points.
"I said: ‘I can do that!’” Hayes-Davis recalled, given that at halftime he was sitting on 21 points and thought he was more than halfway towards the (wrong) mark.
So, when he hit a three-pointer and immediately followed it up with a fastbreak basket to reach 43 points, he purposely committed a foul to be pulled out of the game with 3:27 left on the clock in the fourth quarter.
Hayes-Davis got a standing ovation from a sellout crowd that was a little surprised he was leaving the game with the record within his reach. On the sidelines, he was hugged and congratulated by the Fenerbahce coaches and his teammates, all of whom were in a celebratory mood as the hosts were en route to a big home win.
"When I got it, I came out and told Saras [Jasikevicius]: 'Alright, I got it.’"
Only, he did not.
His 43 points were the second-best scoring performance in EuroLeague history, yet still six behind Shane Larkin's historic night on November 29, 2019.
That's when the twist came.
"Ilker [Ucer, Fenerbahce’s communications and media relations manager] came to me and told me: 'Nigel, you are going to kill me. The record is 49.’"
So, just when everyone thought – Hayes-Davis included – that his night was over, the Fenerbahce forward checked back into the action, some 90 seconds of real time after leaving the game.
"I turned around and told Saras: ‘How often has someone scored [50] in Europe? It's near impossible.’ He looked at me, everybody in the crowd stood up and put up six [fingers]."
That was how many more points Hayes-Davis needed to catch Larkin, while needing seven to become the first player to ever score 50 points in a EuroLeague game. He had 3 minutes and 2 seconds to do it.
Hayes-Davis quickly got to the foul line twice, making 3 of 4 free throws to increase his tally to 46 points. The entire team did their part, with his teammates looking to get the ball into his hands on every offensive possession, almost desperately, all while ALBA was defending him with double-teams, not wanting the record to be broken against them.
Meanwhile, Fenerbahce basically played defense with four players as Hayes-Davis kept lurking to race on a fastbreak.
That's exactly what happened with 58 seconds to go, when Yam Madar picked up the loose ball and sent a full-court pass to an all-alone Hayes-Davis, who got an easy basket to move to 48.
Fenerbahce had three more possessions, but Hayes-Davis needed to wait until the very final one and live through a rare coach's challenge in the final minute of a game decided by 35 points, before eventually giving the fans a moment they will never forget – a chance to witness history.
"It was very scary and shaky, sometimes, but it is a huge honor,” Hayes-Davis commented.
A delighted Saras Jasikevicius
Coach Jasikevicius was all smiles during the post-game interviews, too, probably happier than we have ever seen him before.
"To witness 50 points in European basketball is incredible,” Jasikevicius said. "An incredible endurance by him. At the end of the game, he had so much mileage on his legs and he was running like it was the first quarter."
Jasikevicius, a four-time EuroLeague champion as a player, kept praising the forward he brought to Zalgiris Kaunas in 2019, to FC Barcelona in 2021, and who he reunited with at Fenerbahce when he took over the team in December 2023.
"Obviously, it's a huge testament to how professional he is and how he is practicing. He is practicing with this type of intensity and dedication. This could not have happened to a bigger professional,” the Fenerbahce boss added.
"The best thing about Nigel, since our days in Zalgiris, in Barcelona, [is that] he doesn't give up. Whatever the tough situation is, he doesn't give up. He comes to work every day."
Jasikevicius pointed out that Hayes-Davis has been able to realize his full potential at Fenerbahce, where he has regularly been able to play at the “four” position, rather than at the “three”.
"It was clear he was going to take off because there was more responsibility on his shoulders, and there was no question through the years he was ready for that. It is an incredible accomplishment," Saras concluded on a night that will forever be etched in EuroLeague history.