Galatasaray Medical Park edging Asseco Prokom Gdynia 72-76

Galatasaray Medical Park registered its first-ever Turkish Airlines Euroleague win by holding off a wild fourth-quarter rally to stop Asseco Prokom 72-76 in Gydnia, Poland in Group D on Wednesday night. Jaka Lakovic led the winners with 21 points on 6-of-7 triples and 4 assists. Preston Shumpert added 12 points while Luksa Andric had 11 for Galatasaray. Adam Hrycaniuk and Donatas Motiejunas led Prokom with 15 points apiece. Oliver Lafayette added 12 while Alonzo Gee had 10 and 9 rebounds for the hosts, that used a 10-0 run which bridged between the opening two quarters to get a 23-21 lead. An outstanding Motiejunas helped Prokom to extend its margin to 37-32 at halftime. Lakovic took over in a 2-17 run that gave Galatasaray its first double-digit lead, 39-49, after the break. Galatasaray boosted its margin to 50-68 with 6:26 to go. Just when the game to be over, Prokom found a go-to guy in Lafayette and used a 21-3 run that Gee capped with a dunk to tie the game, 71-71, in the next-to-last minute. A key layup by Andric and free throws by Shipp helped Galatasaray to seal the win down the stretch.

Lakovic got Galatasaray going with a three-pointer and Josh Shipp soon added a layup for a 0-5 lead. Adam Lapeta took over with a dunk but Andric matched it with a jumper. Jerel Blassingame quickly scored in the other end but Lakovic silenced the crowd with his second bomb from downtown, good for a 4-10 Galatasaray lead. Prokom kept struggling to score and a red hot Lakovic shined with a two-chance basket to make it an eight-point game, 4-12. Devin Brown found his first points and Fedor Dmitriev split free throws by Darius Songaila kept Galatasaray way ahead, 7-15. Hrycaniuk set the crowd on fire with a dunk and free throws by Blassingame brought the hosts within 11-16. Cevher Ozer hit foul shots and Lakovic bettered Blassingame's jumper with a triple, good for a 13-21 Galatasaray lead. Hrycaniuk kept pacing Prokom with another jumper and back-to-back baskets by Motiejunas allowed Prokom to get within 19-21 after 10 minutes.

Prokom kept excelling in defense early in the second quarter and a jumper by Hrycaniuk tied it at 21-21. Galatasaray went scoreless in the opening 2 minutes of this period and a jump hook by Motiejunas put the hosts ahead, 23-21, after a 10-0 run. Tutku Acik answered from downtown but a one-handed jumper by Brown provided another lead change, 25-24. Galatasaray tried a matchup zone defense that Lafayette punished with a three-pointer. Shumpert downed a long jumper off a timeout and a fallaway shot by Acik tied it again at 28-28. Shumpert buried another shot, as Galatasaray kept controlling the game tempo through an outstanding Acik. Gee nailed a triple and Motiejunas added a jumper to give Prokom some fresh air, 33-30. Shumpert shined with a driving layup but a jumper by Lafayette and free throws by Motiejunas allowed Prokom to get a 37-32 edge as both teams headed back to their locker rooms.

Galatasaray tried to play with more intensity after the break, being more aggressive on defense. Andric split free throws, as the hosts had been scoreless for more than 2 minutes now. Andric dunked it and matched Przemyslaw Zamojski's layup with a jumper. Lakovic soon added a corner three-pointer that put Galatasaray back ahead, 39-40. The guests were all over the place in defense and a dunk by Shipp forced coach Tomas Pacesas to stop the game at 39-42. Furkan Aldemir stepped up with a power layup and a three-pointer by Lakovic boosted the guests' lead to 39-47. Prokom kept missing open shots and a floating layup by Ender Arslan made it a double-digit game, 39-49, after a 2-17 run. Hrycaniuk shined with a big three-point play but Lakovic made free throws and Jamon Gordon fed Aldemir for a dunk, good for a 42-53 score. Motiejunas found Hrycaniuk for an easy layup but Gordon improved that with a bomb from downtown. Free throws by Hrycaniuk and a three-pointer by Shumpert fixed the score at 48-59 after 30 minutes.

Lakovic buried another three-pointer early in the fourth quarter, as Prokom tried to speed up the game tempo without much success. Lapeta tried to ignite Prokom's comeback with a dunk but a three-point play by Aldemir boosted his team's lead to 50-65 with over 7 minutes to go. An unstoppable Shumpert buried another one from downtown for a 50-68 score. Motiejunas scored down low and Gee added a dunk, as Galatasaray started to use long possessions to run the game clock down. Gee and Lafayette shined with consecutive baskets, forcing Galatasaray to call timeout at 58-70. Lafayette kept pacing Prokom with a three-pointer and a layup off a steal to bring his team back in the game, 63-70, with 4 minutes left. Motiejunas split free throws but Hrycaniuk grabbed the offensive board and scored for a 66-70 Prokom deficit. Brown and Andric traded free throws and a dunk by Gee tied it at 73-73 with 1:22 left. Lakovic split foul shots but Brown picked up a key turnover and a layup by Andric gave Galatasaray some fresh air, 71-74, with 16.4 seconds left. Blassingame missed a driving shot but Gordon went 0-for-2 from the foul line with 9.9 seconds to go. Galatasaray fouled on Gee, who missed his second attempt on purpose. Shipp grabbed the rebound and allowed Galatasaray to put the victory on ice.