After the win, Besiktas learned it had advanced to the quarterfinals when Trento lost
Besiktas battle past Turk Telekom in intense contest to remain undefeated at home
Rapport de match
3 Minute de lecture
Regular Season
Round 17 of 18
Regular Season
group b
Besiktas GAIN IstanbulBJK
9181
Turk Telekom AnkaraTTA
group b
Overview
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The Besiktas GAIN Istanbul and Turk Telekom Ankara showdown lived up to its billing with Besiktas surviving an intense battle in the Turkish derby to remain undefeated at home and inch closer to a top-two spot in Group B.
Besiktas managed to pull away in the closing 2 minutes for a 91-81 victory that lifted its record to 12-5 overall and 9-0 at BJK Gain Sports Complex. After the game, Besiktas learned that it had earned a direct place in the quarterfinals when Dolomiti Energia Trento lost.
“It was a good game for both teams. We respect Turk Telekom. We believe they play a very good game. Both teams had chances. In the end, I believe we were a little more focused on some details,” said Besiktas head coach Dusan Alimpijevic.
Besiktas nearly wasted an 11-point lead, but Devon Dotson came up clutch late with 12 of his 22 points in the final 5 minutes. Ante Zizic registered 12 points and 11 rebounds while Brynton Lemar and Jonah Mathews both added 12 points in the win.
“It was a very tough physical game. We won by 10 points. That seems easy, but it was far from that. Turk Telekom played an amazing game. We all did our best and stepped up tonight. It was a very important win for us,” said Zizic.
This was the fourth game between these two teams already with Besiktas winning 77-72 at home in the Turkish League on September 27 and then 84-93 at Turk Telekom in the EuroCup in Round 8 on November 19.
Turk Telekom scored an 87-84 home win in the Turkish League on January 18.
“We showed a lot of clips of the last loss in the Turkish League. That motivated them a lot,” Alimpijevic said.
Both teams were playing tough defense right from the start in an intense battle. Turk Telekom twice was able to open a 6-point lead and led 19-23 after 10 minutes. Besiktas allowed only one basket in nearly the first 4 minutes of the second quarter and went up 28-25. Three baskets from Mathews pushed the cushion to 35-29. The advantage grew to 43-34 and the home side was ahead 43-38 at the break.
Besiktas twice had an 8-point cushion early in the third quarter and never gave up the lead as the visitors pulled within 3 points. Besiktas was ahead 68-60 after 30 minutes.
A Mathews triple to start the fourth quarter extended the margin to double figures for the first time at 71-60. Turk Telekom immediately responded with a 1-11 surge to make it 72-71. Dotson twice hit three-pointers and then 2 free throws for an 84-79 lead with 89 seconds to go.
An unsportsmanlike foul on Jordan Usher resulted in a Zizic free throw and Mathews layup and Besiktas led 87-79 with 58 seconds remaining. Dotson added a jumper to finish off Turk Telekom’s hopes.
Turk Telekom saw its four-game winning streak snapped in falling to 11-6. Jaleen Smith tallied 19 points, Kyle Alexander had 16 points and 6 rebounds and Kyle Allman had 12 points.
“We fought until the end, but small mistakes and accuracy affected us. We missed 12 free throws and shot 4 of 19 (on three-pointers) and were still in the game in the last 2 minutes. We lost a game that was in our hands, unfortunately. But at the end of the day, this is just one game. Next week we will see where are standing and we will go from there,” said Turk Telekom head coach Erdem Can.
