Nanterre dominates for first home win

JSF Nanterre dominated Budivelnik Kiev from start to finish en route to an 80-61 victory at Halle Carpentier in Paris and the club’s first home victory in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. On the heels of its stunning victory over FC Barcelona one week earlier, Nanterre took charge with a 17-3 first-quarter run and never looked back. Fantastic three-point shooting in the first half and tremendous support from the faithful fans helped the team storm to a 51-23 halftime lead and the stunned visitors never mounted a serious threat the rest of the way. Nanterre improved to 2-2 in Group A to tie CSKA Moscow and Barcelona for second place in the group. Budivelnik dropped to 1-3. Will Daniels scored 14 to lead a balanced Nanterre effort that saw all but one player score. JeKel Foster added 12 points and 6 assists, DaShaun Thomas scored 11 and Johan Passave 10. DaJuan Summers paced Budivelnik with 12 points and Janis Strelniks scored 10.

First quarter: Nanterre shock and awe

Sergii Gladyr dialed up a triple from the arc to open the scoring for the hosts, who kept a lid on Budivelnik until Darjus Lavrinovic hit a free throw, but Passave made both of his to keep Nanterre in front. When Blake Ahearn made Budivelnik's first bucket fall, Daniels answered with a triple to make it 8-3. Next Trent Meacham busted an open triple and Jeremy Nzeulie finished a fastbreak as Nanterre raced ahead 13-3, forcing a Budivelnik timeout. Passave kept it rolling with a jumper off a broken play then a steal-and-dunk combo at 17-3 that brought the crowd out of its seats. When Ali Traore came in and passed to Daniels for a three-pointer, the rout was on for Nanterre. Daniels added a driving layup to make it 22-3 before Micah Downs ended Nanterre's five-minute, 17-0 run with a jumper for Budivelnik. Nanterre's defense continues to star by forcing Budivelnik's seventh turnover as newly arrived David Lighty entered and drilled a three-pointer to send Nanterre to the end of the first quarter in full control, 27-8.

Second quarter: Hosts refuse to let up and expand on lead

Thomas came in and made an instant impact with a pair of free throws, a jump shot and a three-pointer in one minute! Ricky Minard scored Budivelnik’s first points of the quarter a little more than two minutes in. Foster ran down an offensive rebound and found Mam Jaiteh for a wicked two-handed slam plus foul to the delight for the fans. Lavrinovic added another 2 from the line for Kiev. Nanterre matched nearly every Budivelnik point – this time with Jaiteh free throws. More Lavrinovic free throws were met by a Jaiteh slam making it 40-16 midway through the quarter. A Marc Judith free throw and Foster three-pointer gave Nanterre 11 scorers – more than half of whom have connected from downtown. Summers pulled up for a cool jumper only to see Foster sink a runner in the lane. Then Summers free throws were countered by Passave inside, Summers continued to attack for Kiev and got another point from the line. Meacham sank a three from the corner to make it 51-23.

Third quarter: Budivelnik gets closer, but not too much

Summers connected on Budivelnik’s first three of the game and after Traore scores inside, Artur Drozdov sank another. Daniels powered his way inside for a score. Minard went through the Nanterre defense for 2 points. An unsportsmanlike foul led to 4 points for Downs and helped Budivelnik shrink the deficit to 20. Traore helped protect the rim on defense, though the hosts had gone cold on the attack. Daniels scored again, but Drozdov added another three to make it 57-39. Judith went inside for a basket that inspired the local fans. Passave thrilled the crowd with a basket-plus-foul to restore a 22-point lead. After Dainius Salnega scored for Kiev, Foster banked in a runner in transition. Michailis Anisimov scored 2 free throws over two possession before Foster ended the quarter at 68-45.

Fourth quarter: Fans cheer all the way till the final buzzer

Strelnieks connected from behind the arc, but Nanterre kept coming. A Lighty slam in open court gave the crowd more reasons to cheer. Summers and Thomas traded baskets. Minard scored and was fouled inside. Jaiteh impressed with a big rejection. Nzeuli drove in for a layup with two minutes left with the result known to all. The Nanterre fans made it a point to cheer throughout the closing minutes to thank their team for a wonderful basketball display and the team’s first home win.