2018-19Regular SeasonRound 18
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 78
Zalgiris Kaunas 61
January 10, 2019 CET: 18:45
Local time: 20:45 ULKER SPORTS AND EVENT HALL

Fenerbahce overwhelms Zalgiris

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul extended its home-court winning streak to 11 games dating back to last season with a 78-61 rout of Zalgiris Kaunas on Thursday at Ulker Sports and Event Hall. The Turkish champs improved to 16-2 to remain atop the standings. Kostas Sloukas produced 14 points and 6 assists for the winners, Melih Mahmutoglu also scored 14 without missing a shot and Jan Vesely tallied 13 points and 12 rebounds for the winners, who made a season-high 72.2% of their two-pointers. Brandon scored 12 for Zalgiris, which lost its fourth straight game and slipped to 7-11.

More than 2 and a half minutes passed before Arturas Milaknis scored the game's first points with a three-pointer. And nearly 2 more minutes ticked off the clock before Ali Muhammed's jumper got Fenerbahce on the scoreboard. Vesely's steal led to a Sloukas layup and then the big man scored inside to cap an 8-0 Fenerbahce run for an 8-5 lead. Nicolo Melli starred next with a triple followed by a steal that led to an Erick Green layup, a 15-9 advantage and a Zalgiris timeout. Deon Thompson came off the bench for his Zalgiris debut and promptly nailed a jumper, but free throws by Sloukas and Marko Guduric lifted the hosts to 19-11 after 10 minutes. Davies committed an unsportsmanlike foul against Vesely, which sent him to the bench with 3 personal fouls and allowed Fenerbahce to take its lead to double figures. Sloukas completed a 10-0 run that bridged the first two quarters with a jumper for a 14-point cushion. Though Laurynas Birutis's put-back slam ended the Zalgiris drought, Fenerbahce continued to pull away and led 34-18 after Sloukas free throws midway through the second quarter. Mahmutoglu delighted the fans with a hook shot to double the score, 38-19. Paulius Jankunas scored in the paint to make it 43-29 at the break. Zalgiris kept pace with the hosts at the start of the second half and drew within 49-39 on Marius Grigonis's runner. Fenerbahce wouldn't let Zalgiris any closer and Aaron White's free throw left the score at 57-44 through three quarters. Davies scored the first two buckets of the fourth quarter and Nate Wolters made it 57-50 as the arena fell silent. Mahmutoglu penetrated for a layup that revived the hosts and soon added a three-pointer. A Mahmutoglu steal gifted Vesely a layup and a 66-53 lead with 5 minutes to play and Zalgiris never threatened again.

Decisive moments

Fenerbahce was in control for most of the night, but the one time Zalgiris threatened in the second half, the home team's captain was there. It was early in the fourth quarter when Zalgiris strung together a 0-6 spurt to get within 7. Melih Mahmutoglu answered with a layup and a triple to restore a double-digit advantage. Another score and a steal and assist to Jan Vesely meant that Mahmutoglu had his hands in all the points scored in a 9-3 run that made it 66-53 with 5 minutes remaining and all but put the game on ice.

Key stat

Fenerbahce had a historically great shooting night inside the arc, making 26 of 36 shots. That 72.2% conversion rate was not only the best by any team in the league this season, but the third-highest in club history. Four players (Erick Green, Nikola Kalinic, Melih Mahmutoglu and Ali Muhammed) made at least 2 shots without a miss and Kostas Sloukas and Jan Vesely combined to make 11 of 13.

Did you notice?

With Brandon Davies on the bench with foul trouble, Deon Thompson, who joined the team just two days earlier, made his Zalgiris debut and made a jumper with his first touch. Thompson also contributed 1 rebound and committed two fouls in 2:31 of game time.

Next week

Fenerbahce heads on the road next week to face Herbalife Gran Canaria, while Zalgiris returns home for a clash against Panathinaikos OPAP Athens.

Kostas Sloukas - Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul - EB18
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Euroleague.net
Referees: LOTTERMOSER, ROBERT; JIMENEZ, BENJAMIN; MAJKIC, MARIO
Attendance: 10462
By Quarter1234
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul19241421
Zalgiris Kaunas11181517
End of Quarter1234
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul19435778
Zalgiris Kaunas11294461
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 GREEN, ERICK 11:30 4 2/2 0/2                     1 3
4 MELLI, NICOLO 23:56 8 1/2 2/5   1 2 3 2 2 2 3   3 2 11
10 MAHMUTOGLU, MELIH 26:50 14 4/4 2/2     1 1 2 2       3   16
12 KALINIC, NIKOLA 10:42 6 2/2 0/1 2/2           2       1 4
16 SLOUKAS, KOSTAS 22:46 14 5/6 0/2 4/4 1   1 6   1       4 21
23 GUDURIC, MARKO 22:13 5 0/2 1/1 2/2       3 1 1     3 3 6
24 VESELY, JAN 27:08 13 6/7   1/2 2 10 12 3 2 1     3 2 26
32 GULER, SINAN 6:32     0/1         1         2   -2
35 MUHAMMED, ALI 10:42 4 2/2       1 1 2   1     2   4
44 DUVERIOGLU, AHMET 7:39 2 1/1       2 2   1 4     3 3 1
70 DATOME, LUIGI 10:32   0/2       1 1           1   -2
77 LAUVERGNE, JOFFREY 19:30 8 3/6 0/2 2/4   2 2 5   1     3 2 6
Team           1   1               1
Totals 200:00 78 26/36 5/16 11/14 5 19 24 24 8 13 3 0 23 18 95
        72.2% 31.3% 78.6%
Head coach: OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO
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
Zalgiris Kaunas
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 DAVIES, BRANDON 23:37 12 5/11   2/2 3   3 1 3 2     4 3 10
1 WALTON JR, DERRICK 7:05                   1         -1
2 THOMPSON, DEON 2:31 2 1/2       1 1         1 2   -1
3 WOLTERS, NATE 24:04 8 4/6 0/1     1 1 2   3     1 5 9
7 WALKUP, THOMAS 12:05           1 1 1 1         1 4
13 JANKUNAS, PAULIUS 24:04 9 2/5   5/6   5 5 2   1     3 5 13
17 BIRUTIS, LAURYNAS 6:57 7 3/3   1/1 1   1     1     1 1 7
21 MILAKNIS, ARTURAS 24:03 6 0/1 2/4     1 1   1 1     2 1 3
30 WHITE, AARON 21:04 5 2/4   1/2   2 2   1     2 1 2 4
31 JOKUBAITIS, ROKAS 10:38 2 1/2   0/2 1   1 1   2       2 1
40 GRIGONIS, MARIUS 15:52 6 2/5 0/1 2/2   4 4 2   2     2 1 5
92 ULANOVAS, EDGARAS 28:00 4 1/4   2/3 1 3 4 3 2 1     2 2 8
Team                                
Totals 200:00 61 21/43 2/6 13/18 6 18 24 12 8 14 0 3 18 23 62
        48.8% 33.3% 72.2%
Head coach: JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS

Head Coaches

OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
"Everything is normal. We played good basketball today. We talked before the game that it will be very important not to turn over the ball; in the first half, just 4. The problem was the third quarter that we had 7. So this was the main thing. Again, the last quarter just 2. Finally, a very important victory against a team that never gives up and always fights until the end."
JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS
Zalgiris Kaunas
"Congratulations to Fener. I think it was clear that the more physical team won. I am happy how our guys made it a game and gave a good fight in the second half, but against Fener it is not possible to play 20 minutes and to win the game with this type of physicality."

Players

SLOUKAS, KOSTAS
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
"We had to react. Until now, we had a tough schedule. In seven days we played four games. I think we reacted very good because we played one solid home-court game and we played smart against a good team. We deserved the win today. Melih always works hard. I am with him for years, so I know how he thinks and he works. He deserves this. He played really good also at Khimki. All the team and coach trusts him. He showed up. We have to continue on, We are in first place in the EuroLeague, but the tough schedule continues."
VESELY, JAN
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
"It was a good game. We have a tough schedule. After the loss in Moscow, to come back here and play with energy is not easy, but we did it, we fought and we got the win. Let's keep the home winning streak going and I'm looking forward to the next game."
ULANOVAS, EDGARAS
Zalgiris Kaunas
"It was a very tough game. First half was really terrible for us. We made some mistakes which Fenerbahce converted into easy points. Our effort in the second half was much better. We got close to them at some point, but again a few lapses allowed Fenerbahce to run away. Overall, what we gave on the court today wasn't good enough against such team as Fenerbahce."
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