Partizan celebrates first win in front of its fans
Partizan mt:s Belgrade registered its first win of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague season by downing Besiktas JK Istanbul 87-72 in front of 6,500 fans at Pionir Arena in the Serbian capital on Thursday. Partizan improved to 1-5 in Group D and recharged its chances of reaching the Top 16. Besiktas dropped to 3-3, but stayed third in Group D. Dragan Milosavljevic paced the winners with 16 points. Vladimir Lucic and Dejan Musli each added 14 and Leo Westermann and Drew Gordon had 13 apiece for Partizan. Westermann also dished 8 assists and Grodon grabbed 9 rebounds. Curtis Jerrells led Besiktas with 20 points. Damir Markota added 16 for the guests. Musli and Lucic shined early to give Partizan a 21-11 margin late in the first quarter. Jerrells tried to change things, but David Bertans allowed Partizan to keep a 51-43 margin at halftime. Jerrells and Markota brought Besiktas as close as 62-60, but Milosavljevic, Gordon and Musli shined in crunch time and pushed Partizan to an 81-72 margin that sealed the outcome.
First quarter: Musli, Westermann give Partizan an early lead
Musli got Partizan going with a power layup, which Jerrells erased with a driving basket. Patrick Christopher soon added a turnaround jumper to give Besiktas its first lead, 2-4. Westermann buried a three-pointer and fed Musli for an uncontested dunk as Partizan regained the lead, 7-4. Gordon got the crowd involved with a four-chance layup, which Gasper Vidmar erased with a jump hook. Vladimir Lucic fired in a long two-pointer and another close basket by Musli boosted the hosts' lead to 13-6. Markota stepped up with a fast break layup. Westermann matched with a close basket off an acrobatic loose ball dive by Gordon. Milosavljevic made free throws to make it a double-digit game, 18-8. Muratcan Guler went 1-of-2 from the foul line and Jerrells scored in penetration to keep Besiktas within 21-11. Danilo Andjusic shined with a driving layup, but Markota scored down low and Jerrells added a triple for a 23-16 Besiktas deficit. A free throw by Gordon and a corner triple by Markota got the guests even closer, 24-19, after 10 minutes.
Second quarter: Lucic, Bertans shine in physical battle
Vladimir Dasic shined with a backdoor layup early in the second quarter, as Partizan tried to slow down the game tempo. Westermann banked in a running shot in penetration, Dasic split free throws and Musli gave Partizan a 27-22 lead. Musli kept pacing the hosts with a tip-in, but Guler banked in a five-meter jumper. Andjusic hit foul shots and Lucic scored again, but Dasic nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key to keep Besiktas within 33-27. Lucic shined with a floating layup, which Vidmar matched with a two-handed dunk. Lucic fired one in from downtown, but Guler provided a highlight with a three-point play in transition. Gordon split free throws and Musli added another tip-in for a 41-32 Partizan lead. Vidmar and Cehver Ozer stepped up for Besiktas, but Gordon scored down low to keep the hosts far ahead, 43-36. Nikola Milutinov and Lucic stepped up for the hosts, but Jerrells singlehandedly kept Besiktas within 47-40. Jerrells struck from downtown only to see Bertans follow free throws with a tip-in for a 50-43 Partizan lead at halftime.
Third quarter: Partizan keeps slim lead through Lucic
Gordon hit a five-meter jumper immediately after the break, but Vidmar beat the shot clock with a jump hook and Guler added a put-back basket to bring Besiktas within 6. Gordon added a put-back layup, which Markota matched with a quick basket. Milosavljevic brought the crowd to its feet with a three-pointer, but Christopher picked up a loose ball and put it in. Lucic hit a baseline jumper. Markota kept Besiktas within 60-53. Jerrells took over with a fast break layup and added a driving basket off a timeout to make it a 3-point game. Lucic provided a highlight with an off-balance jumper, however Markota bettered it three-pointer from the corner. Gordon split free throws and a dunk by Milutinov gave Partizan some fresh air, 75-70. Christopher fired in one from downtown. Bertans and Milutinovic combined for 3-of-4 foul shots and after Dasic scored down low, a wild buzzer-beating layup by Milosavljevic fixed the score at 70-65 after 30 minutes.
Fourth quarter: Pionir celebrates!
Milosavljevic stayed on fire with a mid-range jumper early in the fourth quarter and Westermann added a driving layup to boost Partizan's lead to 74-65. Markota scored down low, but Besiktas struggled to get Jerrells involved. Gordon shined with a layup in transition, but Serhat Cetin answered with a seven-meter bomb to keep the guests within 76-70. Jerrells hit technical free throws, but Musli erased them with an off-balance tip-in for a 78-72 Partizan lead with just under six minutes left. Musli split free throws and Westermann soon gave the hosts an 81-72 edge. Milosavljevic scored in the low post, as Partizan opted to slow down the game tempo and run the game clock down. Partizan forced a 24-second turnover and a reverse layup by Westermann sealed the outcome, 84-73, allowing a sea of black and white fans to start celebrating at Pionir Arena. Besiktas kept fighting, but Partizan was well on its way to its first Euroleague win in 2012.

Thursday, November 15, 2012
Euroleague.net