Galatasaray routs Neptunas

Galatasaray Liv Hospital displayed a dominant performance on it home floor, thrashing Neptunas Klaipeda 94-68 at Abdi Ipekci arena on Friday night. The win improved Galatasaray to 2-2, while Neptunas dropped to 1-3 in Group B. Galatasaray needed only couple of minutes to take the lead for good behind Furkan Aldemir, and it extended the lead to double figures before the end of the first quarter. Sinan Guler strung together 7 consecutive points at the end of the second quarter for a 46-32 halftime lead, before a 14-1 run to start the third quarter broke the game wide open. Sinan Guler paced the winners with 18 points, while Carlos Arroyo contributed in victory with 15 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds. Zoran Erceg and Furkan Aldemir each scored 13, and Kerem Gonlum collected 10 points plus 8 rebounds. Deividas Galius and Martynas Girdziunas had 10 points apiece for the visitors.

First quarter: Micov and Aldemir fuel early charge

Arroyo opened the game with a fadeaway jumper, before Deividas Gailius nailed a three-pointer for Neptunas. A dunk from Aldemir, another jumper from Arroyo and a driving layup from Micov put Galatasaray up 8-3, but Martynas Mazeika countered with a triple and Mustafa Shakur hit a runner to tie the game. Galatasaray went back in front right away, with Micov hitting a short jumper, and Erceg scoring a layup in a crowd, 12-8. Gailius answered with a layup-plus-foul, but Aldemir put on a show with a two-handed slam, followed by an alley-oop dunk, both assisted by Micov. After Keith Benson hit a jumper for his first ever Euroleague points, Sinan Guler scored a driving layup, and Aldemir added a fastbreak layup-plus-foul to make it 21-13. Erceg extended the lead to double figures for the first time with a pair of free throws, before Mindaugas Girdziunas snapped an 11-2 run and ended the quarter at 23-15.

Second quarter: Guler stars in building 14-point halftime lead

Guler opened the quarter with a driving layup, but Justas Sinica hit a triple and Donatas Zavackas a fastbreak layup to close within 27-20. Pietro Aradori nailed a long jumper with a hand in his face for the hosts, and after a reverse layup from Egidijus Dimsa, it was Ender Arslan and Zavackas who traded triples, 32-25. Girdziunas scored an easy fastbreak layup, but Galatasaray pulled away to 39-27 behind Gonlum's close-range basket, and a long-range dagger from Arroyo. Neptunas cut the lead with Mazeika driving for a layup-plus-free throw, but Guler finished the half stringing together 7 points, including a triple that gave Galatasaray a 46-32 halftime lead.

Third quarter: Galatasaray breaks the game open

Erceg buried a three-pointer at the start of the half, and after Guler’s driving layup, Erceg’s second three put the hosts up 54-33. Aldemir added a fastbreak dunk after a long bounce-pass from Micov, forcing the visitors to call a timeout. Another dunk by Aldemir, this time assisted by Arroyo, and a fastbreak slam from Guler opened a 60-33 margin. Shakur snapped a 14-1 run, before Micov and Gailius traded threes. Erceg hit his third shot from downtown, and after Shakur scored a rare basket for Neptunas, Arroyo hit couple of three-pointers for a 72-42 advantage. Guler scored a fastbreak-layup-plus foul, and after Arnas Butkevicius drove to the basket for the visitors, Arroyo beat the buzzer with a driving layup of his own, making it 77-44 at the end of the quarter.

Fourth quarter: Margin reaches 36 points

The visitors opened the quarter with 6 straight points, including a layup from Valdas Vasylius and a dunk from Butkevicius. After a timeout, Gokturk Ural hit a jumper in his first ever Euroleague appearance to make it 79-50. Sinica made a mid-range jumper for the visitors, but Arslan countered with a three-pointer, 86-52. Sinica hit a triple, but a dunk from Gonlum and a corner three-pointer from Aradori extended the difference to 91-55. Butkevicius also knocked down a three-pointer, and Zavackas hit a short jumper, but Gonlum kept the margin above 30 points. In the closing minutes, Butkevicius and Girdziunas scored easy layups to round out the scoring.