Fenerbahce ruled around the rim, again

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul couldn't have shot much worse from the three-point or free-throw lines as it tried to stave off visiting AS Monaco on its home floor on Thursday night.
Fenerbahce would finish making just 7 of 30 three-pointers for its lowest efficiency from the arc, 23.3%, all season. Things was just as bad at the foul line, where the hosts downed just 17 of 29 attempts, or 58.6%, for its third-worst performance of the season there.
Fenerbahce won nevertheless, 98-94 in overtime, thanks to stellar work around the rim, hitting 30 of 43 two-pointers for 69.8% accuracy that is proving the team's calling card this season.
Big man Johnathan Motley went 7-for-10 on Thursday to raise his league-leading average of two-pointers made to 5.8, which he converts at a rate of 63.6%. Scottie Wilbekin went inside to make 6 of 7 shots, one shy of his career high. Marko Guduric went 4-for-6 and Nick Calathes 3-for-4 when they ventured inside. At a lower rate, but still 58.3%, was Nigel Hayes-Davis, who made 7 of 12 attempts.
No other team in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague has made as many as 30 two-pointers this season with such high efficiency, except Fenerbahce. Its 33-for-42 twos (78.6%) in a 107-77 blowout of Panathinaikos Athens in Round 8 was the best by any team so far. Fenerbahce followed that by making 30 of 40 (75.0%) in beating ALBA Berlin by 29 in Round 12.
On Thursday, Fenerbahce's relentlessness around the rim made all the difference when compared to Monaco, which struggled to make 24 of 49 two-pointers, or 49.0%, its eighth performance below the break-even mark this season. So despite Monaco shooting somewhat better from the arc and much better at free throws, it was not enough despite both teams taking the same total shots for the night.
Fenerbahce now ranks second among all teams in two-point accuracy this season, at 57.6%, behind only Olympiacos Piraeus's 59.1%. With its third victory in a row and a chance to even return to a share of first place on Friday, it's worth wondering how potent Fenerbahce can become if its other shots start falling.