Regular Season
Round 33 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Marathon men Hayes-Davis, Pierre carried Fenerbahce in fiery Turkish derby
Article
3 Mins read
Having one player on the court for the full 40 minutes in top-level European basketball is rare, but deploying two must surely go down in history. Yet, that’s exactly what Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul head coach Dimitris Itoudis did when he kept forwards Nigel Hayes-Davis and Dyshawn Pierre in the action from start to finish during an epic 103-96 win over cross-town rival Anadolu Efes Istanbul. The victory brought sheer joy to the winner and bitter disappointment to the loser.
By coming out with the win, Fenerbahce remains on course to reach the postseason, but the defeat for Efes pushed the outgoing back-to-back champion out of the playoff contention ahead of the last round of the regular season next week. Hayes-Davis posted a career high of 26 points to go with 4 rebounds, while Pierre, who returned to action after missing the last four games through injury, racked up 17 points and 8 boards.
One would imagine that the two big men might have needed oxygen masks after going the extra country mile in a rip-roaring Turkish derby with so much at stake, but they turned up for courtside post-game interviews looking like they’d only just warmed up for the contest. And neither of them left any doubt that they had more left in their tanks.
“I think any player would take playing for 40 minutes if told to by the coach, and I was happy to contribute,” said a smiling Pierre. “We knew what this meant to the fans, so we are happy to have given them and the organization this win and the opportunity to move forward.”
Hayes-Davis revealed he drew inspiration from a morning chat with a rather extraordinary source. “I talked to my kittens this morning and I had a good conversation with them. They said, ‘Do your best, Nigel' and I meowed back and I said, 'I will', so a shout-out to my kittens, the team and the fans – they were great today,” he said. “The atmosphere was electric, and I could have gone on for another 20 minutes if I needed to.”
Coach Itoudis, who has two Turkish Airlines EuroLeague titles to his name with CSKA Moscow (2016 and 2019), coupled his jubilant mood with some dry humor. “Bad coaching,” he said with a grin when asked to comment on keeping his team’s unrelenting duo on the court all night long.
On a more serious note, he added: “I have to apologize to them for not taking them out, but they mean a lot to our system. I hate when players are injured, I like having a headache [about] whom to select when everyone is healthy. We needed both of them because of their size, intelligence and their multiple ways of attacking on offense. Obviously I don’t want to keep players on the court for 40 minutes, but this wasn’t a typical regular-season game. There was a lot on the table.”
The heroics of Hayes-Davis and Pierre aside, the team's stats helped to tell the story, too. Fenerbahce nailed 10-of-18 three-pointers, while Efes made only 7 of 22, with the home side racking up 30 boards to the visiting team’s 19. That, in turn, allowed Fenerbahce to make 32-of-46 shots from two-point territory, whereas Efes hit 26 of 38. Finally, Fenerbahce dished out 20 assists to Efes’s 13, with the two sides committing 8 turnovers each. The more resourceful Fenerbahce simply had too much depth for Efes.
Game Videos
- 01:27
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Nigel Hayes-Davis: 'I learned a valuable lesson'
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Zalgiris Kaunas-Anadolu Efes Istanbul | RS Round 14 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Darius Thompson: 'Whoever came in competed'
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Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz-Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul | RS Round 13 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul-FC Bayern Munich | RS Round 13 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Nwora's huge slam! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:27
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Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul-EA7 Emporio Armani Milan | RS Round 12 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:09
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Bryant bullet-pass feed for Poirier! Motorola Magic Moment
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul-Paris Basketball | RS Round 11 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Willis throws it down! Motorola Magic Moment
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Virtus Segafredo Bologna-Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul | RS Round 11 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 01:28
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- 01:27
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Marko Guduric: 'Since 2019, we hadn't won here!'
- 00:21
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Colson stops Mitchell! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:15
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Zagars's acrobatic layup! Motorola Magic Moment
- 01:27
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Vincent Poirier: 'We made the right play at the right moment'
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- 00:41
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Unbelievable block by Thompson! | Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 00:09
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Poirier says no! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:22
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Poirier’s putback with interest! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:15
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Darius Thompson’s huge steal and slam! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:54
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- 01:25
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Nigel Hayes-Davis: 'His negativity is what fuels me'
- 00:15
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Oturu rejects Diop! Motorola Magic Moment
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- 01:07
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Saras Jasikevicius: 'We have a great group of guys'
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/WUp1NWm2hxU/maxresdefault.jpg]()
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne-Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul | RS Round 8 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul-AS Monaco | RS Round 8 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:09
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Thompson finds Oturu! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:16
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/888bbe89-53c1-48f5-b6b7-1ce84fd820fe.jpg?crop=1025%3A577%3Anowe%3A260%3A54]()
Thompson throws it down! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/zCbK-dBI8zI/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul-Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade | RS Round 7 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 01:40
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2024/11/01/3tQ1yDjFInebhskfuM5bgiyclybBPC01-1730494080286.jpg]()
Nigel Hayes-Davis: ‘We have to be consistent on both ends, starting with me’
- 00:11
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/40043d1f-a1ff-4026-9f10-9edebe01c62a.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A97%3A80]()
Showtime basketball by Fenerbahce! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:58
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Darius Thompson: 'We've got a lot of talent on this team'
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/tuVIHjEiYPQ/maxresdefault.jpg]()
ALBA Berlin-Anadolu Efes Istanbul | RS Round 7 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:12
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Poirier rejects Olinde dunk attempt! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/b0ad83cf-78af-4183-9e7b-a436a7ab908f.jpg?crop=1536%3A864%3Anowe%3A192%3A108]()
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul-FC Barcelona | RS Round 6 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:11
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Poirier's huge alley-oop slam! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:12
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/ab4fc6c5-033c-4e28-b9de-6556d0682e82.jpg?crop=1254%3A706%3Anowe%3A16%3A56]()
Poirier's alley-oop dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/No2Nx24QppM/maxresdefault.jpg]()
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EA7 Emporio Armani Milan-Anadolu Efes Istanbul | RS Round 5 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:50
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Darius Thompson: 'It was a next-man-up mentality'
- 00:21
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Poirier blocks, Thompson dunks! Motorola Magic Moment
- 01:44
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Shane Larkin: 'I try to take a little bit more responsibility'
