2014-15Regular SeasonRound 9
December 10, 2014 CET: 18:00
Local time: 19:00 SVYTURIO ARENA

Gailius, Shakur lead Neptunas to fourth win

In a critical battle which went down to the final minutes, Neptunas Klaipeda greatly improved its chances to get to the Top 16 from Group D by downing Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul 82-72 at home on Wednesday. Neptunas recorded its fourth home win in improving to 4-5, while Galatasaray dropped to 3-6. Deividas Gailius paced the winners with 23 points. Mustafa Shakur added 16 while Arnas Butkevicius had 11 for Neptunas. Zoran Erceg led Galatasaray with 24 points and a recovered Vladimir Micov added 12 for the hosts. Gailius and Martynas Mazeika fueled an early 7-0 run that allowed Neptunas to hold on to a 22-18 lead after 10 minutes. Galatasaray tried a tall lineup with Erceg at small forward, which paid off right away. Erceg followed back-to-back triples with a layup to give the guests a 27-28 edge. Butkevicius and an outstanding Gailius helped Neptunas regain the lead, 40-37, at halftime. A 0-6 run that Guler capped with a layup gave Galatasaray a 40-43 edge after the break. Gailius and Valdas Vasylius took over from downtown to make it a nine-point game, but Erceg and Ender Arslan kept the guests within 63-60 through three quarters. A huge dunk by Gailius gave Neptunas a 72-65 margin midway through the fourth quarter and Galatasaray never recovered, allowing Neptunas to celebrate a truly historic win.

First quarter: Early run puts hosts ahead

Sinan Guler got Galatasaray going with a driving layup, which Mustafa Shakur matched with a two-handed slam. Deividas Gailius struck from downtown and a driving basket by Martynas Mazeika gave Neptunas a 7-2 lead. Vladimir Micov made free throws, but a layup by Shakur restored a 9-4 Neptunas edge. Guler kept pacing the guests with a three-point play. Keith Benson made free throws and a fast break layup by Gailius boosted the hosts' lead to 13-7. Zoran Erceg sank foul shots, which Benson erased with a slam. Micov took over with an off-balance basket and bettered Simas Butkevicius's layup in transition with a corner triple to get Galatasaray closer, 17-14. Shakur answered from beyond the arc and a close basket by Donatas Zavackas made it an 8-point game. A layup by Patric Young and a baseline jumper by Erceg brought the guests within 22-18 after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Galatasaray goes big, Neptunas holds on

Ender Arslan hit an off-balance shot early in the quarter, but Valdas Vasylius answered with a power basket. Galatasaray tried a tall lineup with Erceg, Kerem Gonlum and Ian Vougioukas together on court. Butkevicius nailed a three-pointer, which Erceg copied at the other end to make it 27-23. Erceg, comfortable at small forward, stayed on fire with a catch-and-shoot seven-meter bomb and a close basket, which put the guests back ahead, 27-28. After Butkevicius split free throws, Erceg hit his two attempts and Gonlum gave Galatasaray a 28-32 edge. Butkevicius and Carlos Arroyo exchanged three-pointers before a fast break slam by Shakur ignited the crowd at 33-35. Gailius nailed his trademark step-back jumper and matched Arroyo's free throws with another basket that tied it at 37-37. Gailius buried a three-pointer for a 40-37 Neptunas lead at halftime.

Third quarter: Gailius keeps Klaipeda fans happy

Young took over with a big slam immediately after the break and he followed that with an acrobatic basket to put Galatasaray back ahead, 40-41. Guler shined with a wild driving basket, which caused Neptunas to call timeout at 40-43. After Zavackas struck from downtown, Guler scored again in penetration. A layup by Shakur tied it at 45-45. Zavackas kept pushing Neptunas with a layup. Young scored around the basket before Edigijus Dimsa put Neptunas back ahead, 49-47. Gailius nailed a corner triple, as Galatasaray struggled to score. Arslan split free throws and a layup by Benson gave Neptunas fresh air at 54-48. Gailius picked up a loose ball and nailed one from beyond the arc, but Young and Marty Pocius gave the guests hope at 57-52. Gailius buried his fourth triple and Vasylius hit another from the same spot to make it a 9-point game. Erceg and Arslan joined the three-point shootout to bring the visitors within 63-60.

Fourth quarter: Neptunas seals critical victory

Erceg scored in the low post early in the quarter, but Mindaugas Girdziunas matched that with a mid-range jumper and free throws by Butkevicius gave the hosts a 67-62 edge. Erceg fired in a big three-pointer, however Vasylius and Girdziunas made free throws and a huge dunk by Gailius brought the crowd to its feet at 72-65 with less than sven minutes left. Galatasaray could not find answers on offense until Micov shined with a one-handed floater in the lane. Shakur scored in penetration and a tip-in by Simas Galdikas seemed to seal the outcome at 76-67. Erceg made free throws, but he didn't find much help around. Mazeika split foul shots and Shakur beat the shot clock with a wild three-pointer that gave Neptunas its first double-digit lead, 80-69. Galatasaray kept trying, but the Neptunas fans in Klaipeda had plenty of time to celebrate yet another historic win.

Deividas Gailius - Neptunas Klaipeda - EB14
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Euroleague.net
Referees: HIERREZUELO, DANIEL; ANASTOPOULOS, PANAGIOTIS; KOLJENSIC, MILOS
Attendance: 5669
By Quarter1234
Neptunas Klaipeda22182319
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul18192312
End of Quarter1234
Neptunas Klaipeda22406382
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul18376072
Neptunas Klaipeda
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
7 MAZEIKA, MARTYNAS 19:42 3 1/5 0/1 1/2 1 2 3 3 1 1   1 1 4 5
8 GIRDZIUNAS, MINDAUGAS 15:20 3 1/2 0/1 1/1   1 1 3         1 1 5
10 SINICA, JUSTAS 8:50   0/1 0/2         1         1   -3
12 DIMSA, EGIDIJUS 5:56 2 1/1                     2    
13 GAILIUS, DEIVIDAS 25:05 23 4/4 5/9   1 7 8     4     4 4 23
15 SARAKAUSKAS, VYTAUTAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
21 GALDIKAS, SIMAS 16:36 4 2/3     1 1 2 2   1     4   2
22 SHAKUR, MUSTAFA 24:40 16 5/8 2/4     4 4 3 1 1     2 1 17
34 BENSON, KEITH 17:28 6 2/4   2/2 1 3 4       2     1 11
41 ZAVACKAS, DONATAS 26:49 7 2/4 1/2 0/1 4 1 5 2 2 1     2 1 10
42 VASYLIUS, VALDAS 13:11 7 1/2 1/2 2/2   2 2   1 1       2 9
51 BUTKEVICIUS, ARNAS 26:23 11 1/3 2/2 3/4 1 2 3 1         4 2 10
Team             1 1               1
Totals 200:00 82 20/37 11/23 9/12 9 24 33 15 5 9 2 1 21 16 90
        54.1% 47.8% 75%
Head coach: MAKSVYTIS, KAZYS
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 YOUNG, PATRIC 30:15 9 4/6   1/2 3 5 8     2     2 4 14
5 MICOV, VLADIMIR 36:36 12 2/5 2/3 2/2   4 4 2 1 1   1 2 6 17
7 ERCEG, ZORAN 40:00 24 3/5 4/7 6/6   4 4   1 1     2 4 25
11 JAWAI, NATE DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 GONLUM, KEREM 11:41 2 1/3     2 3 5     1         4
15 VOUGIOUKAS, IAN 5:00   0/1       1 1           1   -1
17 POCIUS, MARTYNAS 14:58 3 0/1 1/6   2   2 1       1 1 1 -1
21 ARADORI, PIETRO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
30 ARROYO, CARLOS 25:51 5 0/4 1/5 2/2   1 1 5   1     4 3 1
32 GULER, SINAN 22:13 9 4/8 0/2 1/1   2 2 1   2 1   3 1 3
33 ARSLAN, ENDER 13:26 8 2/4 1/3 1/2       3   1     1 2 6
35 URAL, GOKTURK DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           5 3 8     1     1   6
Totals 200:00 72 16/37 9/26 13/15 12 23 35 12 2 10 1 2 17 21 74
        43.2% 34.6% 86.7%
Head coach: ATAMAN, ERGIN

Head Coaches

MAKSVYTIS, KAZYS
Neptunas Klaipeda
"I am glad we took an important victory on the road to the Top 16. It seems our nerves were better than our opponents. We had more strength at the end of the game. Our amazing fans were the sixth player on the court."
ATAMAN, ERGIN
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul
"We knew that Neptunas at home plays differently. They are playing with more energy. Tonight Shakur did a great job in defense; he stopped our main guard Arroyo. Our opponent played better and justly won tonight. "

Players

GAILIUS, DEIVIDAS
Neptunas Klaipeda
"This is great. We want to go to the Top 16 and make history for the city and our club. We gave 150% today and won the game. We are very, very happy. We played with big energy. We were 100% focused from the beginning of the game until the end."
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