Turk Telekom locks down Partizan, 85-71

Turk Telekom Ankara remained undefeated at home in Group A by downing Partizan NIS Belgrade 85-71 in the Turkish capital on Tuesday. Turk Telekom improved to 6-5 in the standings and is 5-0 at home this season. Meanwhile, Partizan dropped to 8-3. Anthony Clemmons led the winners with 20 points and 8 assists. JaJuan Johnson and Jared Terrell each added 15 points for Turk Telekom. Dallas Moore led Partizan with 15 points. Kevin Punter and Mathias Lessort each added 14 while Zach LeDay and Aleksa Avramovic had 10 apiece for the guests. Clemmons shined early and got help from Johnson to give Turk Telekom a 21-18 edge after 10 minutes. Aubrey Dawkins and Terrell stepped up in the second quarter, joining forces with a red-hot Clemmons to boost the hosts' lead to 43-32 at halftime. Dallas Moore and Punter stepped up for Partizan but Johnson and Clemmons allowed Turk Telekom to extend its margin to 60-46 after 30 minutes. Samet Geyik hit a triple that made it a 19-point game, 65-46, and the hosts never looked back after that.

Punter got Partizan going with a layup off a steal that Alex Perez bettered with a corner triple for a 3-2 Turk Telekom lead. Lessort scored down low and Punter added an off-balance floater to restore a 5-6 Partizan edge. Clemmons struck from downtown and Johnson matched Avramovic's layup with a jumper. Clemmons and Punter traded three-pointers, then Lessort took over with a put-back layup that tied it at 14-14. Geyik downed a jumper and Can Ogut added a three-point play but Lessort and Avramovic kept Partizan within 19-18. Johnson hit a catch-and-shoot jumper that fixed the score at 21-18 after 10 minutes.

Terrell joined the three-point shootout early in the second quarter and added a stop-and-pop jumper that made Partizan call timeout at 26-18. Alen Smailagic and Balsa Koprivica stepped up with back-to-back layups. Johnson hit a jumper and Dawkins followed a three-pointer with an off-balance layup that made it a double-digit game, 33-22. Lessort answered with a dunk-and-one that Yam Madar followed with a jumper to bring Partizan within 33-27. Terrell scored in penetration, Clemmons sank his third triple and Berk Demir's tip-in gave Turk Telekom a 40-27 margin. Avramovic and LeDay tried to change things for the guests but Clemmons struck again from beyond the arc for a 43-32 Turk Telekom lead at halftime.

Octavius Ellis and Smailagic exchanged layups right after the break, then LeDay dunked to get Partizan within 45-36. Johnson buried a five-meter jumper and Erdi Gulaslan added a fastbreak layup that restored a 49-36 Turk Telekom edge. Punter stepped up with a put-back basket but Clemmons and Johnson boosted their team's margin to 53-38. Moore rescued Partizan with 7 quick points but Perez's electric driving layup kept Turk Telekom way ahead, 55-45. Dawkins nailed a catch-and-shoot triple and Ogut beat the third-quarter buzzer with a driving layup that gave his team a 60-46 margin after 30 minutes.

Johnson hit his trademark mid-range jumper early in the fourth quarter and Geyik struck from downtown to break the game open, 65-46. Punter stepped up with a three-point play that Terrell erased with a bomb from beyond the arc. Punter kept pacing Partizan with a jumper and Moore added a fastbreak layup that made the hosts call timeout at 68-54. LeDay capped a 0-6 run with a layup, as Ellis stepped up with a jump hook. Moore and Clemmons traded triples, then Lessort dunked for a 73-61 score with under 6 minutes left. Ellis followed a layup with a dunk, getting help from Terrell and Clemmons to seal the outcome, 80-64.

Clemmons leads Turk Telekom with near-perfect shooting

Turk Telekom Ankara sent a message that echoed all around the 7DAYS EuroCup by downing mighty Partizan NIS Belgrade 85-71 to remain undefeated at home. Anthony Clemmons was at the center of all the action, stepping up in Aaron Harrison's absence with a career-best performance. He finished the game with a EuroCup personal-high 20 points on near-perfect shooting, hitting his only two-point try and 5 of 5 attempts from downtown, missing only a free throw among his 4 attempts from the line. Clemmons also had 8 assists, matching his highest mark in the EuroCup, against Hamburg Towers in Round 9. He added 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 fouls drawn for a personal-best PIR of 32.

Turk Telekom's great shooting night

Turk Telekom Ankara downed Partizan NIS Belgrade 85-71 in Round 11 based on its great accuracy from all angles. The Turkish powerhouse hit 22 of 30 two-point shots. That 73.3% two-point shooting is a new club record, improving on the previous one of 70.6% against Bolougne Metropolitans 92 last week. Turk Telekom sank 11 of 23 three-pointers (47.8%), as well, and dished a season-high 22 assists. On the other hand, Partizan entered the game leading the 2021-22 7DAYS EuroCup in free throw percentage at 82.4%, but only hit 18-of-33 attempts from the foul line, or 54.5%. Partizan was also off-target from two-point (48.7%) and three-point range (29.4%). Turk Telekom shot the ball much better, found open shots – especially in the left corner – and won the game.

Turk Telekom's Johnson continues on up the all-time charts

JaJuan Johnson of Turk Telekom Ankara reached several milestones in his team's 85-71 home victory against Partizan NIS Belgrade. Johnson, age 32 and in his fifth EuroCup season, made it to the Top 25 in the all-time scorers’ list. With his 15 points against Partizan, he totals 932 points and went past two former EuroCup champions, Kelly McCarty (922) and Marko Marinovic (930). Johnson, who also won the EuroCup title with Darussafaka Istanbul in 2018, is now 11th in rebounds at 421, needing 15 to reach the Top 10. Kostas Kaimakoglou ranks 10th at 435. He is in sixth place in blocks, 79, right behind 2016 EuroCup Finals MVP Stephane Lasme (80).