The Turkish side ended a seven-game losing streak and made it two defeats from three for the visitors.
Turk Telekom gets back on the right track against Cluj, 95-84
Turk Telekom Ankara got back to winning ways for the first time since Round 2 by beating U-BT Cluj-Napoca 92-80 at Ankara Spor Salonu in Round 10 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season. With this victory on Tuesday evening, Turk Telekom improved to 2-8, while dropped to 7-3.
James Palmer paced Turk Telekom with a season-high 24 points, while he also had 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals in a very complete performance. Tyrone Wallace contributed 15 points, Steven Enoch added 14, and both Okben Ulubay and Ismail Ulusoy chipped in with 12. For Cluj, Patrick Richard and Andrija Stipanovic scored a team-high 15 points apiece, followed by D.J. Seeley with 13, Karel Guzman and Jarell Eddie with 12 each, and Emanuel Cate with 11.
A strong start by Turk Telekom
Turk Telekom scored the first basket of the game through Saybir, 2-0, just 13 seconds into the contest before a back and forth ensued between the two teams. There was very little separating Turk Telekom and Cluj, with the score 10-11 with 5:22 remaining, but a late surge by the hosts, led by Palmer, resulted in a 26-18 margin after 10 minutes.
Turk Telekom kept Cluj at arm's length
One aspect of Turk Telekom's approach that was particularly noticeable was its determination to go inside, with its big men enjoying plenty of success close to the rim. Yet, despite trailing for the entire quarter, Cluj never allowed Turk Telekom to pull away, as the visitors relied on their three-point shooting. Eddie made it a 1-point game, 33-32, after striking from deep, but a four-point play by Palmer later helped Turk Telekom extend its lead to 9 points, 50-41. At halftime, though, it was only a 5-point difference following a Guzman triple.
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Cluj managed to level things up... just
After the interval, Cluj kept fighting and regularly stayed close to Turk Telekom, with Guzman's corner three making it a 1-point ballgame once again, 55-54. But, Turk Telekom always seemed to have a response. Ulusoy scored a couple of three-pointers on successive Turk Telekom possessions to make it 66-59 with 1:21 left before the fourth quarter, but a crazy 10.9-second period saw Cluj level the scoreboard at 66-66 with 20 seconds remaining after a quick Stipanovic dunk and a Bryce Jones steal that led to a Seeley three-pointer. After 30 minutes, there was nothing to separate the two teams, 66-66.
Turk Telekom put its foot on the gas
Although Cluj once again kept it close at the beginning of the final period, largely thanks to its ability to get to the free-throw line, Turk Telekom began to take over the contest thanks to Palmer, Wallace and Ulubay. With 6:39 left, Wallace's floater gave the hosts an 8-point lead, 77-69, before Saybir blocked Adam Mokoka and Palmer got out in transition for a layup, 79-69. Cluj kept fighting, but Ulubay appeared with two three-pointers on back-to-back Turk Telekom possessions to create the biggest lead of the game, 85-74. The rest of the way, Turk Telekom's players kept their cool from the line and eventually came away with a 95-84 triumph, just their second in the EuroCup this season.