Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul vs. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

2021-22Regular SeasonRound 15

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 90

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 79

December 14, 2021 CET: 18:45

Local time: 20:45 ULKER SPORTS AND EVENT HALL

Fenerbahce holds off Maccabi's comeback

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul grabbed its third consecutive win by topping Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 90-79 at home on Tuesday. Fenerbahce improved to 6-9 in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season standings, while Maccabi dropped its fifth straight game to fall to 7-8. Devin Booker led the winners with 22 points and Nando De Colo added 21. James Nunnally paced Maccabi with 18 points. Scottie Wilbekin added 14, Keenan Evans 13, Derrick Williams 10 and Ante Zizic pulled down 11 rebounds for the visitors. Fenerbahce led 42-37 at the break before Pierria Henry scored 6 points in a 9-0 run that boosted his team's lead to 59-43. It was 70-51 after 30 minutes, but Maccabi rallied to within 79-74, That's when Booker and De Colo stepped up in crunch time to seal the outcome.

Finished with AUTHORITY by @JanVesely24 #7DAYSMagicMoment pic.twitter.com/OgYsG8SqBg
— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) December 14, 2021

Evans and Wilbekin got Maccabi going with back-to-back three-pointers. Marko Guduric answered from downtown and Booker added an alley-oop dunk to make it 5-6. Williams joined the three-point shootout and got help from Evans and Zizic to keep Maccabi ahead, 7-13. Booker followed an alley-oop slam with a put-back dunk. He then followed DyShawn Pierre's jump hook with a triple that gave the hosts their first lead, 16-13. Jalen Reynolds scored down low but Polonara followed a triple with a layup. Scottie Wilbekin struck from way beyond the arc to keep Maccabi within 23-18 after 10 minutes.

Angelo Caloiaro buried a corner triple early in the second quarter. Sehmus Hazer took over with a backdoor layup and De Colo followed a fallaway jumper with a three-point play for a 30-21 Fenerbahce lead. Kameron Taylor struck from downtown, Zizic erased Vesely's dunk with a put-back layup and Evans scored in transition, which prompted the hosts to stop the game at 32-30. De Colo buried a jumper and Vesely fed Booker for a slam that gave Fenerbahce fresh air at 36-32. Wilbekin and Hazer each struck from beyond the arc, Vesely pushed the margin to 42-35. Evans hit a jumper to fix the halftime score at 42-37.

Pierria Henry nailed a three-pointer soon after the break and Booker buried a jumper to make it a double-digit lead, 47-37. Nunnally took over with a coast-to-coast layup and a floater. He got help from Reynolds to get Maccabi within 50-44. Booker stepped up with a catch-and-shoot three-pointer. Henry also struck from beyond the arc and added a layup-plus-foul that broke the game open, 59-43. Vesely and Kameron Taylor traded dunks before De Colo made it 63-45. Evans scored in penetration and Caloiaro banked in an off-balance shot, but Guduric and Polonara fueled a 7-0 run that kept Fenerbahce comfortably ahead, 70-51, after 30 minutes.

Nunnally sink a triple early in the fourth quarter and soon added a three-point play to give Maccabi hope at 72-57. Williams struck from downtown to force Fenerbahce to stop the game at 72-60. Nunnally took over with a wild four-point play, Zizic scored in paint and Williams's layup brought the guests within 74-68 with over 6 minutes left. De Colo and Pierre tried to change things for the hosts but Nunnally hit a jumper. After De Colo buried a floater, Nunnally and Wilbekin brought their team even closer, 79-74. Booker answered with a tip-in and De Colo sealed the outcome, 83-74, with a driving layup in the final minutes.

Stop. Pop. Buzzer-Beater.@scottiew_5 ends the quarter in STYLE!#7DAYSMagicMoment pic.twitter.com/j5QmUIGe9Q
— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) December 14, 2021

Booker is Fenerbahce's X-factor

Devin Booker led Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul to victory against difficult Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in Round 14 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season. In fact, Booker has led Fenerbahce's most recent turnaround. In Fenerbahce's four-game losing streak, Booker averaged 6.3 points and 2.5 rebounds for a PIR average of 7.0. Fenerbahce has won its last three games and Booker's numbers are 14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and a PIR of 16.3 in that stretch. Against Maccabi, Booker had a season-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting inside the arc and 2-of-4 from downtown plus 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks for a PIR of 23.

Nunnally plays inspired basketball in Istanbul

It is always special for James Nunnally to play at Ulker Sports and Event Hall. Nunnally helped his former team, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, to conquer the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title in 2017. He certainly proved to be a championship-caliber player, leading Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv's offense against Fenerbahce in Round 14 on Tuesday. Nunnally finished the game with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 8 fouls drawn for a PIR of 17. He led Maccabi's fourth-quarter comeback, bringing his team within 79-74, but Devin Booker and Nando De Colo allowed Fenerbahce to seal the outcome.

Fenerbahace relies on blocks, hustle

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv played a very physical showdown in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 14. When the dust settled, Fenerbahce won 90-79. Two-point shooting accuracy allowed Fenerbahce, together with its overall aggressiveness, to win the game. Fenerbahce made 23 of 39 two-point shots (59.0%), limiting Maccabi to hit just 17-of-37 shooting inside the arc (43.2%). Both teams fought hard; Maccabi led 13-12 in offensive rebounds and 9-8 in steals. Fenerbahce, however, blocked 6 shots and Maccabi finished the game with just 2 blocks, which was important in the outcome of this great game.

Nando De Colo - Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul - EB21

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Euroleague.net

Referees: LAMONICA, LUIGI; LATISEVS, OLEGS; NIKOLIC, UROS

Attendance: 5130

By Quarter	1	2	3	4
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul	23	19	28	20
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv	18	19	14	28

End of Quarter	1	2	3	4
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul	23	42	70	90
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv	18	37	51	79

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

							Rebounds						Blocks		Fouls
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG	3FG	FT	O	D	T	As	St	To	Fv	Ag	Cm	Rv	PIR
1	BIRSEN, METECAN	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	HAZER, SEHMUS	13:48	5	1/2	1/2		1	1	2	1				1	1		4
10	MAHMUTOGLU, MELIH	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
13	BIBEROVIC, TARIK	1:16													1		-1
19	DE COLO, NANDO	29:39	21	8/11	0/4	5/6	1	2	3	5	1	2			1	6	25
20	HENRY, PIERRIA	25:19	9	1/2	2/4	1/1	1	4	5	1	1	1			3	1	10
21	PIERRE, DYSHAWN	35:33	8	1/2	1/3	3/4	1	4	5	3	2	2			4	7	15
23	GUDURIC, MARKO	14:25	9		2/4	3/4	1	2	3	2		2			2	4	11
24	VESELY, JAN	27:25	8	3/9		2/2	1	5	6	4	1	3	3	1	4	3	11
31	BOOKER, DEVIN	33:01	22	8/12	2/4		3	3	6	1	3	2	3		4		23
33	POLONARA, ACHILLE	19:34	8	1/1	2/4			2	2	2						1	11
44	DUVERIOGLU, AHMET	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Team						3	3	6			1					5
	Totals	200:00	90	23/39	10/25	14/17	12	26	38	19	8	13	6	2	20	22	114
				59%	40%	82.4%

Head coach: DJORDJEVIC, SASA

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

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

							Rebounds						Blocks		Fouls
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG	3FG	FT	O	D	T	As	St	To	Fv	Ag	Cm	Rv	PIR
1	WILBEKIN, SCOTTIE	29:42	14	0/2	4/10	2/2	1	2	3	3	2	6			2	2	8
2	EVANS, KEENAN	30:07	13	4/7	1/3	2/2	1	1	2	7	3	1		1	4	3	17
4	CALOIARO, ANGELO	17:24	7	1/1	1/1	2/2	1	2	3	1	1				2	2	12
6	WILLIAMS, DERRICK	29:58	10	1/3	2/6	2/2		2	2	1	1	4		1	1	1	3
7	TAYLOR, KAMERON	18:15	5	1/3	1/2	0/1		1	1	1	1				5	1
8	REYNOLDS, JALEN	12:38	3	1/2		1/1	2	2	4		1	2	2	1	3		3
9	SORKIN, ROMAN	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
12	DIBARTOLOMEO, JOHN	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
14	BLAYZER, OZ	3:51													1		-1
15	COHEN, JAKE	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
21	NUNNALLY, JAMES	31:29	18	4/7	2/6	4/6	3	2	5	2		2		1	4	8	17
23	ZIZIC, ANTE	26:36	9	4/12		1/1	5	6	11			2		2	1	2	9
	Team						1	3	4								4
	Totals	200:00	79	16/37	11/28	14/17	14	21	35	15	9	17	2	6	23	19	72
				43.2%	39.3%	82.4%

Head coach: SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS

Head Coaches

DJORDJEVIC, SASA

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

"They came back with some really good three-pointer shooting and plus-one situations. We were not that focused defensively like we were most of the game. Our defense was really exceptional today and nevertheless, that's part of the quality of Maccabi players. Great win for us, great team play. We just have to get the energy and focus on the next game, that's it. We just won against Maccabi: what happened yesterday, I don't even remember what I ate. Like I told you before, we never backed down and are always working hard. Now, we are finishing the games differently. We have to know each other even better; this is a new team with new guys that are playing together, so it is a good win for us. Now we have to focus on Baskonia.

“In this job, emotions are our enemies. This is not Coach Djordjevic saying, but Coach John Wooden, one of the biggest ever. That's what he said, emotions are our enemies. And yes, we showed our emotions and it is good sometimes, but you cannot get dragged by it.”

SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

"I think that today we fought better than in the previous game, but had one bad period in the third quarter, in which we lost our concentration and missed some layups. On the other side, we allowed easy baskets. That created a big difference, I think, 21 points, 12 minutes before the end. Although we had this big gap, we didn't give up and continued to fight. We came back to the game, bringing the game to 5 points. But in that moment, we missed an open shot and missed one defensive rebound that changed the good momentum that we had. It was not good, of course, that we had 17 turnovers. When you play away and turn the ball over so many times, it is very hard to score, and give the chance to the opponent to score a lot of points from your mistakes. This is what happened tonight, although in the first half we were close, and said we needed to continue to fight harder in the second half, playing harder defensively and smarter offensively, without turnovers, this didn't happen and I think that was the key point that, in the third period, made the gap so big. And we couldn't come back. Congratulations to Fener. We continue and play the next game in our home court. We want to fight hard for the win."

Players

DE COLO, NANDO

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

"It is a good feeling but we are working hard every day to be there. Now, we need to keep working and keep the focus like we did lately. I think we had to control the game much better before, but this is what happened tonight, and I think we came back good when they were back in the game, and that's it. We know how to play a little bit better together, so this is important for a game like this and to finish good. Like I said, we really try every day to work. Communication is really important to know how we can be better together on the court, and this is working good."

BOOKER, DEVIN

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

"[Our focus was] just come out focused and with a lot of energy. We did that okay in the first half and in the second half, we kind of let our focus slip, made a lot of mistakes. I was talking about it at halftime, we had to stay focused and we didn't do it, and we blew up a 21-point lead. But we came out with the win. We fought hard in the end and got the win that we needed. Hopefully, we can keep that momentum going to the second game this week. It is a big week for us and if we can get that win, hopefully that momentum, we can carry that momentum into the next game. It was definitely well-needed and we got it done."