Kyle Alexander posted a historic statline to lead the winners
Turk Telekom grabs pivotal win in Ljubljana, 74-80
Turk Telekom Ankara took an important step forward in the race to reach the playoffs from Group B by topping Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 74-80 in the Slovenian capital in Round 12 on Wednesday. Both teams now have 7-5 records in the standings. Turk Telekom has a 2-0 record against Cedevita, which could be critical for both teams in tie-break situations.
Yoan Makoundou led the winners with 22 points. Speedy Smith added 14 while Kyle Alexander totaled 11 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals and 6 blocks. Devin Robinson paced Cedevita with 23 points. Devante Jones added 15 while DJ Stewart had 13 for the hosts.
Game Videos
Alexander got Turk Telekom going with a jump hook. Robinson made a triple, Stewart added a backdoor layup and Aleksej Nikolic erased Makoundou's tip-in with a step-back jumper. After Anthony Brown struck from downtown, Stewart answered with a put-back layup. Makoundou followed a jumper with a three-pointer in an 0-8 run that gave Turk Telekom a 9-15 lead. Robinson followed a jumper with a power basket, Brown nailed a mid-range shot and Alexander's put-back layup made it. Jones scored in penetration and Robinson dunked. Brown, Makoundou and Javon Bess each struck from beyond the arc to boost the visitors' lead to 19-28 after 10 minutes.
Andrija Stipanovic stepped up with a driving layup early in the second quarter. Melih Tunca dunked at the other end and then Brynton Lemar buried a jumper off a spin move. Alexander made a mid-range shot and Smith added a floater, igniting a 0-10 run that Makoundou capped with an off-balance floater for a 23-40 Turk Telekom lead. Cedveita found a go-to guy in Robinson, who took over with a three-point play and followed Jaka Blazic's triple with a baseline jumper, causing the visitors to call timeout at 33-40. Olivier Hanlan and Ismet Akpinar each struck from downtown, but Robinson and Blazic drew Cedevita within 38-48 at halftime.
Jones tried to change things with a driving layup right after the break and Robinson's dunk made it 42-48. Makoundou and Akpinar each buried a triple to give Turk Telekom fresh air at 44-54. Robinson downed another mid-range shot and Stewart dunked off a steal to bring Cedevita within 48-56. Hanlan rescued Turk Telekom with a floater, which Bess followed with a wide-open corner three-pointer. Jones struck twice from beyond the arc and followed Robinson's three-pointer with another big shot from downtown, bringing Cedevita within 60-63. Hanlan made it 60-65 at the end of the quarter.
Makoundou nailed a three-pointer early in the fourth quarter. Alexander added a layup that capped a 0-7 run that saw Turk Telekom restore a double-digit lead, 60-70. Stewart banked in a jump hook and downed a baseline jumper. Lemar scored off a midcourt steal to give Cedevita hope at 66-70. Blazic made free throws, then Stewart took over with three-point play that completed Cedevita's comeback, 71-70. Makoundou banked in an up-an-under layup off a spin move and Smith fired in a critical three-pointer, prompting the hosts to call timeout at 71-75. Alexander solved a broken play with an uncontested dunk, then Nikolic kept the hosts within 74-77 in the next-to-last minute. Smith split free throws for a 74-78 score with 44.4 seconds left. Jones missed a layup and Bess sealed the win with more foul shots.