2020-21Regular SeasonRound 18
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 71
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 73
January 07, 2021 CET: 19:00
Local time: 19:00 ALEKSANDAR NIKOLIC HALL

Brown's game-winner lifts Fenerbahce past Zvezda

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul had to battle for all 40 minutes to down Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 71-73 in the Serbian capital on Thursday. Fenerbahce improved to 8-10 and is now on a three-game winning streak. Zvezda dropped to 6-12 and lost the chance to win three consecutive EuroLeague home games for the first time since March 2018. Lorenzo Brown became the hero against his former team by hitting the game-winning floater off the baseline at the buzzer. Brown and DyShawn Pierre led the winners with 13 points apiece, Marko Guduric added 11 and Danilo Barthel and Jan Vesely each scored 10 for Fenerbahce. Johnny O'Bryant paced Zvezda with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Ognjen Dobric added 12 points, Dejan Davidovac 11 and Quino Colom 10. Zvezda led 66-59 late in the game, but Fenerbahce rallied and Brown won it as time expired.

Vesely got Fenerbahce going with a layup that Corey Walden bettered with a three-pointer for a 3-2 Zvezda lead. Barthel matched it with a layup-plus-foul, igniting a 0-7 run highlighted by Vesely's dunk. Davidovac and Dobric stepped up for the hosts, but Guduric and Nando De Colo gave Fenerbahce an 8-13 lead. Davidovac scored again and O'Bryant buried a triple to bring Zvezda within 13-15. Marko Jagodic-Kuridza took over with a tip-in and got help from Colom and O'Bryant to give Zvezda a 22-18 lead after 10 minutes. Brown scored in penetration early in the second quarter and found Pierre for a corner triple that caused the hosts to call timeout at 22-23. Aleksa Radanov answered from beyond the arc, but Vesely kept the guests in charge, 25-27. O'Bryant hit a jumper, then Walden and Dobric each sank a three-pointer to give Zvezda a 35-31 edge. Guduric answered from downtown and Barthel dunked, but Duop Reath hit a jump hook and Colom beat the halftime buzzer with a jumper for a 39-38 Zvezda lead.

Edgaras Ulanovas and Brown each sank a three-pointer right after the break for a 38-44 Fenerbahce margin. Colom rescued Zvezda with a layup-plus-foul and a no-look assist that allowed O'Bryant to tie it at 44-44. Jagodic-Kuridza soon completed the hosts' comeback, 47-46. Brown buried a step-back triple and Jarell Eddie added a jumper, but O'Bryant and Radanov kept Zvezda ahead, 53-51. Pierre hit a running hook to fix the score at 53-53 after 30 minutes. Guduric nailed a jumper early in the fourth quarter. Dobric answered with a three-point play and Davidovac added a layup in a 7-0 run that gave Zvezda fresh air at 60-57. Vesely and Pierre rescued the guests, but O'Bryant and Dobric kept their team in charge, 66-59. Barthel struck from beyond the arc and Brown added a three-point play. Guduric soon put Fenerbahce ahead, 68-69, with less than 3 minutes left. Davidovac buried a wide-open triple, Pierre hit free throws and Fenerbahce got the ball back in the final seconds. Brown had time to drive and hit a baseline floater at the buzzer to win the game.

Pivotal performer

DyShawn Pierre did a little bit of everything to lead Fenerbahce to a win with an all-around performance. He finished the game with 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 assists and 3 fouls drawn for a PIR of 19.

Game-changing stretch

The game's momentum changed in the closing minutes of the game. Zvezda led 66-59 before Danilo Barthel buried a critical three-pointer, Lorenzo Brown took over with a three-point play and Marko Guduric added 4 quick points to give Fenerbahce a 68-69 edge. Brown won the game down the stretch, but it wouldn't have been possible without this comeback.

Stellar stat

Two-point shots made the difference in this game. Fenerbahce made 22 of 40 shots inside the arc (55.0%) and Zvezda only buried 12 of 30 attempts (40.0%). None was more important, of course, than Brown's game-winner.

Did you know?

It was Edgaras Ulanovas's 28th birthday. He celebrated it with a strong performance, scoring 7 points on 2-of-2 two-point shooting and 1-of-2 on threes for a PIR of 7 in just 14 minutes.

Next game

Both teams return to EuroLeague action early next week. Fenerbahce hosts TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz on Tuesday, January 12. A day later, on Wednesday, January 13, Zvezda visits Real Madrid.

Lorenzo Brown - Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul - EB20
Thursday, January 7, 2021
Euroleague.net
Referees: CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS; ROCHA, FERNANDO; VYKLICKY, ROBERT
Attendance: 183
By Quarter1234
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade22171418
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul18201520
End of Quarter1234
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade22395371
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul18385373
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
00 O'BRYANT, JOHNNY 28:12 17 4/7 1/4 6/6 1 9 10 4 1 1 2   2 5 30
2 WALDEN, COREY 19:04 6 0/1 2/5         3 2 2 1   1 3 8
4 USKOKOVIC, ALEKSA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 DAVIDOVAC, DEJAN 24:04 11 3/6 1/1 2/2 2 2 4 1 1 2 1 2 3 2 10
10 LAZIC, BRANKO 8:28   0/2 0/1             3     3 1 -8
11 REATH, DUOP 6:44 2 1/1       1 1     1         2
12 RADANOV, ALEKSA 22:46 8   2/2 2/2   1 1 1 1       3 2 10
13 DOBRIC, OGNJEN 34:42 12 1/5 2/7 4/4   3 3 2 4 3     3 2 8
21 JAGODIC-KURIDZA, MARKO 24:39 5 1/3 0/1 3/4 3 2 5 1 1       1 2 9
32 KUZMIC, OGNJEN 10:19   0/1     2   2 1 1 1         2
35 NNOKO, LANDRY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
55 COLOM, QUINO 21:02 10 2/4 1/1 3/3       5   4       5 14
Team             3 3     1         2
Totals 200:00 71 12/30 9/22 20/21 8 21 29 18 11 18 4 2 16 22 87
        40% 40.9% 95.2%
Head coach: RADONJIC, DEJAN
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
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 HAMILTON, JOHNNY 4:52   0/1     1   1         1 3   -4
4 BROWN, LORENZO 22:35 13 3/7 2/4 1/1 1 1 2 4 2 3     2 1 11
8 GUDURIC, MARKO 28:15 11 3/6 1/5 2/2 2 6 8 3 2 3 1 1 3 5 16
10 MAHMUTOGLU, MELIH 13:38 4 2/3 0/2     1 1     1     1    
13 BIBEROVIC, TARIK DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 DE COLO, NANDO 26:25 2 1/4 0/2     4 4 3 2 4   1   2 3
21 PIERRE, DYSHAWN 24:56 13 3/4 1/3 4/4 2 1 3 3 2       2 3 19
22 BARTHEL, DANILO 23:00 10 2/4 1/3 3/3   3 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 10
24 VESELY, JAN 28:50 10 5/8     2 4 6 1 2 1     2 1 14
31 EDDIE, JARELL 9:36 2 1/1 0/1     2 2   1       1   3
44 DUVERIOGLU, AHMET 3:42 1     1/2           2     4 1 -5
92 ULANOVAS, EDGARAS 14:11 7 2/2 1/2   1   1   1       1   7
Team           4 1 5               5
Totals 200:00 73 22/40 6/22 11/12 13 23 36 15 13 15 2 4 22 16 79
        55% 27.3% 91.7%
Head coach: KOKOSKOV, IGOR

Head Coaches

RADONJIC, DEJAN
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade
"It was a hard game, for sure. Congratulations to Fenerbahce for the win. We missed the last shot, they scored, and that was it in the end. But more or less, we gave our maximum tonight and played with a lot of energy. We made some mistakes and did a lot of good things, for sure. With the problems we have, with Corey [Walden] not being able to help us at the end of the game, we will continue to work and I hope we will be quite good when it is most important for us."
KOKOSKOV, IGOR
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
"Tough game, tough place to play. Crvena Zvezda was missing a few guys, that's not a secret, we all saw it, but sometimes to play your best game without your best players. This team proved in the last couple of EuroLeague games that they can play really well even when missing a couple of guys. They are very dangerous and played at home with a lot of energy, a lot of emotions. It was a tough game to play. I think our defense was showing some good moments. Unfortunately, in the first quarter, we had five defensive [stops] in a row but didn't convert those into points. We have to do a better job but are working so hard defensively. We have to convert those stops into fastbreak points and then the game is easier. But taking care of the rebounds was one of our bullet points because this team is really crashing the boards, they are aggressive on the boards, and I think rebounding was the key tonight. Overall, there is not such a thing as a bad win in the EuroLeague. We are pleased and happy that we are leaving Belgrade with a victory."

Players

BROWN, LORENZO
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
"I feel great, actually, it was a hard-fought win. We had to come out here and play great and we just came out with the win. It feels good to go back home with the victory. It was very emotional to come back and see those guys, to see what they have been accomplishing this year. I have some old friends on this team like Jordan Loyd and Langston Hall. It just feels great to be back. It is a very big victory. It has been an up-and-down year for us, but we just kept chipping away and hopefully, things will turn around for us."
PIERRE, DYSHAWN
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
"I feel great. It was a very hard-fought win. It is very hard playing away, so we are happy that we were able to get a win in such a place like this."