Turk Telekom ended DKV Joventut Badalona’s unbeaten run and matched its record atop the Group A standings with a 96-94 win on Tuesday night in Ankara. The two teams now share 7-1 records, though Joventut remains in first due to a 19-point win in November. The thrilling game saw fantastic displays by both point guards and seven lead changes in the fourth quarter, but it was Telekom that had the final laugh. Khalid El-Amin carried Telekom for much of the second half and finished with 33 points on 6-of-10 three-point shooting and 5 assists. Meanwhile teenage sensation Ricky Rubio had his best game yet with a career-high 29 points, 10 assists and 3 steals for Joventut. The visitors led by as many as 15 in the first period and seemed poised for a big win. However Telekom scored 9 straight to open the second period and trailed only 39-46 at halftime. The hosts took their first lead midwat through the third quarter and it remained close from that point. But it was El-Amin who had the hotter hand down the stretch to secure the victory. Erwin Dudley added 18 points, Chris Williams had 16 and Bekir Yarangume 14 for the winning team. Petar Popovic scored a season-high 20 on 9-of-11 shooting for Joventut, Demond Mallet added 17 and Jan-Hendrick Jagla posted 8 points and 10 rebounds in defeat.

With Rubio running the show, Joventut opened the game in style as Popovic picked up a pair of baskets during a 0-6 start. Yarangume corrected his own miss for Telekom’s first points, but the Rubio to Popovic express connected once more as Joventut went up 2-10. Yarangume cut the gap to 3 before back-to-back triples from Jagla and Rubio made it 7-16. Rubio continued to score as the visitors raced to an 11-26 lead before Haluk Yildirim and Dudley made it 17-28 after 10 minutes. The hosts started the second period on fire, as Dudley scored 5 during a 9-0 run to get within 2. Popovic answered with back-to-back baskets as Joventut maintained a small lead. Popovic traded points with Yarangume until a pair of Rubio buckets made it 39-46 at halftime. El-Amin came out for the second half ready, scoring a quick bucket and assisting on a Williams score to cut the gap to 3. Still Rubio’s points and assists kept the visitors ahead 48-57. An El-Amin triple made it a 2-point game midway through the third before Lonny Baxter got on the board for Joventut. El-Amin’s hot hand was unstoppable and he kept things real close until a Muratcan Guler bucket gave Telekom its first lead, 64-63. The lead changed hands a few more timed before Ferran Lavina and Mallet restored Joventut’s advantage to 66-70 heading into the fourth quarter. Guler was again the one to put Telekom ahead three minutes into the fourth quarter, 72-71. Mallet responded with a cool three as the game heated up. Rubio free throws and soon a triple put the visitors up 4, but El-Amin scored the next 5 points. Popovic made it 84-85 only for El-Amin to set up Williams for the go-ahead bucket. He then added a cool three to go with it. Mallet responded with his own triple, but this time Tutku Acik hit from downtown and after a Lubos Barton turnover, El-Amin nailed another bomb for a 95-88 lead with a minute to go. The visitors didn’t quit and Mallet got them back within 1, but El-Amin added the last point from the line and missed the final free trhow on purpose to run out the clock for a big win.