Turk Telekom Ankara recorded consecutive wins for the first time in 2023 by racing past Dolomiti Energia Trento 72-80 on Tuesday night. The victory lifted Turk Telekom to 10-4 and, at least temporarily, into second place in Group B. Trento fell to 2-12 and is ninth place in the group.
Turk Telekom tops Trento 72-80
Jerian Grant scored 20 of his career-high 26 points in the first half to lead the winners. He also dished 5 assists en route to a personal best PIR of 30. Axel Bouteille added 12 points, Nathan Sestina and Mehmet Yagmur netted 11 and Erkan Yilmaz had 10 for Turk Telekom. Toto Forray and Diego Flaccadori each went for 18 points and 7 assists to pace Trento, Darion Atkins amassed 12 points and 9 rebounds and Andrejs Grazulis also scored 12 in defeat.
Turk Telekom struggled early and was unable to score in the first 3 minutes as Trento grabbed a 4-0 lead. Grant soon got the visitors back on track as Turk Telekom scored 7 straight points. Forray came off the bench for 12 points in 3 minutes as the hosts went back ahead, 18-12. Bouteille’s layup drew Turk Telekom within 20-17 after 10 minutes.
The teams traded shots to start the second quarter and Flaccadori helped Trento keep Turk Telekom at bay, 30-24, after a technical foul was called on visiting head coach Erdem Cam. Grant heated up again to rally Turk Telekom and gave his team the lead, 36-37, with a three from the corner. Trento guard Trent Lockett and visiting center Tyrique Jones were both ejected after an altercation between them with 2:26 remaining in the half. Turk Telekom held on for a 40-43 halftime advantage.
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Tony Taylor took charge with 5 points in a row to stretch the Turk Telekom lead to 44-53, but Grazulis played a key role in a 6-0 spurt to trim the deficit. Trento got as close as 2 and finished the third quarter down 54-59.
Atkins had the hot hand for Trento and his jumper made it 59-62. Grant dished a pair of assists and buried a shot in the lane to fuel a 0-7 run that gave the visitors a double-digit lead. Trento refused to give in, but was unable to string together enough scores in a row to threaten and Yilmaz's three in the penultimate minute all but put the game on ice.