Montepaschi Siena rallied past Galatasaray Medical Park 63-67

Montepaschi Siena kept its chances to win Turkish Airlines Euroleague regular season Group D by edging Galatasaray Medical Park 63-67 in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday. Montepaschi improved to 6-2 and will be at least third at the end of this round. Galatasaray dropped to 3-5 but has good chances to go to the next round. In fact, Galatasaray will advance next week if it beats Union Olimpija at home. David Andersen led the winners with 18 points. Igor Rakocevic added 17 for Montepaschi. Jaka Lakovic led Galatasaray with 15 points. Luksa Andric added 14 while Jamon Gordon had 10 for the hosts. Rakocevic shined early to give Montepaschi a 18-19 edge after 10 minutes. The second quarter saw as many as 5 lead change but a layup by Lakovic allowed Galatasaray to reach halftime with a 33-32 edge. A 9-0 run that Lakovic capped with a three-pointer boosted the hosts' margin to 41-32 midway through the second quarter. It didn't last long, as Andrea Michelori, Rakocevic and Andersen fueled a 2-18 run that restored a 43-50 Montepaschi margin after 30 minutes. Galatasaray got a 58-57 edge late in the end but an outstanding Andersen had 8 points in the final 105 seconds to lead Montepaschi to a big win.

Furkan Aldemir got Galatsaray going with a dunk, as Montepaschi went scoreless in the opening 2 minutes. A jumper by Gordon soon gave the hosts a 4-0 lead. Andersen stepped up with his trademark turnaround jumper and a driving layup by Igor Rakocevic tied it at 4-4. Andersen kept pacing Montepaschi with a layup-plus-foul, as Galatasaray tried to run its offense through Preston Shumpert, a surprising starter at small forward. Nikos Zisis capped a 0-9 Montepaschi run with a layup off a steal, as Aldemir answered with a jump hook. Rakocevic nailed a baseline jumper and matched Gordon's fast break layup with an off-balance shot, good for an 8-13 Montepaschi lead. Rakocevic hit free throws but a layup by Shumpert and a turnaround jumper by Andric got Galatasaray within 12-15. Andric and Zisis traded foul shots but a layup by Gordon and an acrobatic jump hook by Andric got Galatasaray within 18-19 after 10 minutes.

A pit-back layup by Darius Songaila made Galatasaray restore a 20-19 edge early in the second quarter. Moss stepped up with a mid-range jumper and a free throw by Pietro Aradori gave Montepaschi a 20-22 edge. Andric rolled off a high post pick for a layup and a second-chance basket by Cehver Ozer provided another lead change, 24-22. Zisis nailed a stop-and-pop jumper that Lakovic bettered with a bomb from downtown. Moss buried a three-pointer but a fallaway jumper by Lakovic put the hosts back ahead, 29-27. Sertac Sanli took over with a backdoor layup, as Montepaschi finally managed to find a go-to guy in Rakocevic. He buried a three-pointer and added free throws to make the hosts stop the game at 31-32. Both teams went scoreless for almost 2 minutes but a coast-to-coast layup by Lakovic gave the hosts a 33-32 margin at halftime.

Lakovic and Songaila made free throws immediately after the break, as Montepaschi tried to open the floor with Shaun Stonerook and Andersen back on court. Haluk Yildirim - in his first Euroleague game since 2004, at age 39 - struck from downtown to force Montepaschi to call timeout at 38-32. Lakovic joined the three-point shootout that capped a 9-0 run. Montepaschi had been scoreless for more than 5 minutes until Marco Carrareto nailed a corner triple. Rakocevic added a driving layup and fed Andersen for a wide open three-pointer that made Galatasaray call timeout at 41-40. Free throws by Ress capped a 0-10 run that put the guests back ahead, 41-42. Andric and Tutku Acik split free throws but a layup by Rakocevic - his 2,200th point in competition history - restored a 43-44 Montepaschi lead. Zisis hit a rainbow jumper and Andrea Michelori followed foul shots with a layup to give the guests a 43-50 margin after 30 minutes.

Andric tried to ignite Galatasaray's comeback with a tip-in early in the fourth quarter. Shumpert soon added a corner three-pointer to send the crowd to their feet at 48-50. Ress took over with a three-pointer from the top of the key that Andric matched with a layup-plus-foul for a 51-53 score with 7 minutes left. Lucas shined with a layup off a steal and a driving basket by Acik put the hosts back ahead, 55-53. Montepaschi kept struggling to score until Andersen hit a jump hook. Montepaschi kept trying to use long possessions, using its outstanding ball circulation to generate open shots. Aradori hit a mid-range shot to make Galatasaray call timeout at 55-57. Aldemir and Lakovic made free throws to make the hosts regain the lead, 58-57. Andersen sank a mid-range jumper and Moss copied him right after that for a 58-61 Montepaschi lead with 1:07 to go. Gordon scored around the basket but Andersen buried another shot and added 4-of-4 free throws to seal the outcome, 63-67, with 14.2 seconds left, as Galatasaray did not recover.