With three rounds to go in the regular season, the Turkish side stayed on course to advance
Turk Telekom retains playoff hopes with 77-65 win over Hamburg
Game Report
3 Mins read
Turk Telekom Ankara remained firmly on course to reach the BTK EuroCup playoffs with a hard-fought 77-65 home win over Veolia Towers Hamburg in Group B, improving to 9-6 while the German side dropped to 3-12 and lost all hopes of advancing into the business end of the competition.
Anthony Brown paced Turk Telekom with 18 points, Yoan Makoundou added 16 to go with 6 boards while Kenneth Smith racked up 10 points and 7 assists for the home team. At the other end, Jordan Barnett netted 18 points and Kur Kuath registered a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Turk Telekom gained the upper hand from the start and soon carved out a 16-9 lead on the back of fast-paced offense, combined with strong defense which denied Hamburg open looks and forced the visitors out of the paint.
The Turkish side then raced clear, 28-13, as its big men Makoundou and Kyle Alexander dominated at both ends of the floor while the backcourt unit kept sinking shots from mid-range and downtown.
Game Videos
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Aris Midea Thessaloniki-Veolia Towers Hamburg | Round 17 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/w-WlNUUzq_s/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Turk Telekom Ankara-Umana Reyer Venice | Round 17 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:15
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Ivey leads Kuath for slam! Magic Moment
- 00:22
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Alexander's big alley-oop dunk! Magic Moment
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/PKSCq6WF3aY/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Veolia Towers Hamburg-7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys | Round 16 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:12
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/69e6e6ed-58f5-4bad-90b5-617c403dfa80.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A214%3A202]()
Title here Kuath with the monster putback dunk! Magic Moment
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/57ba786e-4e6d-409a-a07c-c679b9164a81.jpg]()
U-BT Cluj-Napoca-Turk Telekom Ankara | Round 16 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:26
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Stove drains the buzzer-beater! Magic Moment
- 00:07
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Great alley oop from Durmaz and Alexander! Magic Moment
- 00:23
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2025/01/15/kArSwLJSSK2K026bhzljvdCqk5IRsRFg-1736978896254.jpg]()
Flying Alexander! Magic Moment of the Night
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/bW7bdTbKZT4/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Turk Telekom Ankara-Veolia Towers Hamburg | Round 15 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:13
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Smith and Makoundou combine! Magic Moment
- 00:18
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Alexander on the alley oop! Magic Moment
- 00:14
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Makoundou gets airborne to hammer it home! Magic Moment
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Veolia Towers Hamburg-Umana Reyer Venice | Round 14 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:11
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Kuath skies for the alley-oop! Magic Moment
- 00:13
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Barnett rises for the dunk! Magic Moment
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/9a30bae0-1be5-4874-8cf1-8a1dd5c187bc.jpg]()
Valencia Basket-Turk Telekom Ankara | Round 14 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:14
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/6218a6e4-0c21-414a-949c-57672f931bd2.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A126%3A175]()
Makoundou denies Badio!! Magic Moment
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/Y9kg3RC5GC0/maxresdefault.jpg]()
U-BT Cluj-Napoca-Veolia Towers Hamburg | Round 13 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/6b323ac5-591b-498c-af8b-c27364c3c483.jpg]()
Turk Telekom-Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse | Round 13 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:10
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/e4d5576d-b5b0-401c-ac78-c05db2b2ef9f.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A62%3A178]()
Bess with eyes in the back of his head! Magic Moment
- 00:22
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Makoundou's alley-oop slam! Magic Moment
- 00:08
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Kuath swats Hankins! Magic Moment
- 01:12
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2024/12/20/qPafa6ZmYnSvmtRyMS1dFfFYXXSzg67i-1734739086700.jpg]()
Theo Maledon: 'We're getting better as a team, as a collective'
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/bc8882ff-a50a-4896-99e8-4b4a36c83544.jpg]()
Zalgiris Kaunas-LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne | RS Round 17 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:23
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Smailagic with a big two-handed slam! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:12
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Dunston's big swat! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/xXPPuE3QQpU/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana-Turk Telekom Ankara | Round 12 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:11
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/30e77f28-8d8e-4cf8-ae23-41dd09965aec.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A173%3A205]()
Stewart dunks off a steal! Magic Moment
- 00:10
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/8353de35-05e1-4288-9dc2-0d2233744d85.jpg?crop=858%3A483%3Anowe%3A76%3A71]()
Robinson throws it down! Magic Moment
- 00:13
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/0f385f7c-d90f-4114-be23-4a03df3528e5.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A147%3A56]()
Alexander blocks and Robinson dunks!
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/agSlDjB_na0/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Veolia Towers Hamburg-Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem | Round 12 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:20
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/2c33effe-5e1f-4ef7-82ec-e378cc4584be.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A141%3A149]()
Reece with the alley-oop slam! Magic Moment
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/zzJ9Vgml_zw/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Turk Telekom Ankara-Aris Midea Thessaloniki | Round 11 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:21
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/acd66f5b-7487-48b7-9a7a-b24c4ccbdf5d.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A123%3A65]()
Makoundou's big block! Magic Moment
- 00:13
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/508b9c17-8039-4c50-a063-866920150f45.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A150%3A88]()
Makoundou's put-back dunk! Magic Moment
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/-DYE7B6b7yM/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Veolia Towers Hamburg-Valencia Basket | Round 11 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:18
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/2838b1a8-7620-4acf-84e3-e1dbce6d071b.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A129%3A103]()
Kuath punishes the rim! Magic Moment
- 00:12
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Turudic hammers it home! Magic Moment
- 00:27
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2024/12/04/XLmbajKfwMjopXfbGwKJdCdHhgtAWOxW-1733350763340.jpg]()
Kuath with the massive block on Nelson! Magic Moment of the Night
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/UuuwT3QFVM8/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse-Veolia Towers Hamburg | Round 10 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/eynybtRkEpY/maxresdefault.jpg]()
7-bet Lietkabelis Panevezys-Turk Telekom Ankara | Round 10 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:11
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/46758356-bb54-4d0b-8ff3-9d2899c9788f.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A144%3A100]()
Barnett takes off! Magic Moment
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/-QGxm1bgDFo/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana-Veolia Towers Hamburg | Round 9 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/LymUl0EaDvU/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Turk Telekom Ankara-Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem | Round 9 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/zAQbOas_bH8/maxresdefault.jpg]()
Umana Reyer Venice-Turk Telekom Ankara | Round 8 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:15
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/508b9c17-8039-4c50-a063-866920150f45.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A147%3A88]()
A monster one-handed jam by Makoundou! Magic Moment
- 00:28
![https://dve-images.imggaming.com/original/p/2024/11/12/wymmQVO6BiPHnb3Cak94vyf6aUCitcxg-1731449782449.jpg]()
Hamburg monster alley-oop! | Magic Moment of the Night
![https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/e6ae65a8-6306-4a4c-9ee6-bc4a0da307ea.jpg]()
Veolia Towers Hamburg-Aris Midea Thessaloniki | Round 8 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
Hamburg was unable to cope with Turk Telekom’s torrid pace, which saw Smith and Alexander light up the contest with several spectacular alley-oops which had a vocal home crowd on its feet.
The hosts engineered a commanding 46-31 lead at halftime, with the versatile Makoundou leading the way on 12 points, while livewire Brown added 8. Alexander and Ismet Akpinar chipped in with 6 points apiece and Smith dished out as many assists to underline Turk Telekom’s smooth team effort which put the home side firmly in the driving seat.
The Turkish team appeared to lose some of its momentum early in the third quarter and allowed Hamburg to conjure a 2-8 run which slashed the deficit to 48-39, as Jaizec Lottie hit a deep three for the visitors midway through the third quarter.
They closed the gap to 50-44 moments later and forced the home team’ head coach Erdem Can to call a timeout, with Turk Telekom’s offense grinding to a screeching halt. The Turkish side responded with a lightning 7-0 run as Brown sank one from downtown to stretch the lead back to double figures. Not for long though, as Hamburg then netted 6 unanswered points to reduce Turk Telekom’s lead to 57-50 heading into the final 10 minutes.
A corner three from Smith followed by Olivier Hanlan’s mid-range jumper made it 64-50 early in the fourth and although Hamburg fought hard to stay in touch, Smith drained another three from way downtown to keep the hosts in control, 69-55.
There was one last roar from Hamburg as it closed in to 70-65 with 1:28 minutes left on the clock before a pair of free throws by Makoundou followed by a spot-up three from Brown put the game beyond the German team’s reach.
“Hamburg was under no pressure and our biggest problem was the offensive rebounds, as we gave them too may,” Can said in his postgame comments. “We stayed together and were smart on offense, but our defense was the key.”
Hamburg won the battle of the boards 48-39 having collected a staggering 21 offensive rebounds but the visitors were ultimately undone by their own dreadful long-range shooting, having sank a mere 4 of 34 from deep while Turk Telekom made 8 of 25.
