The Turkish side was on pace to set a new postseason record for triples
Fenerbahce was on fire from three… until the fourth quarter
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Everything looked good for Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul entering the fourth quarter of its Game 2 clash at AS Monaco on Friday night. Saras Jasikevicius’s men held a 65-74 lead and had been light’s out from three-point range, yet a fourth-quarter collapse saw the visitors lose 93-88.
Fenerbahce’s guard duo of Tyler Dorsey and Scottie Wilbekin looked as though they couldn’t be stopped through the first three quarters, combining for 39 points and 10 three-point makes. Although Wilbekin went on to hit a further 2 triples in the fourth, they proved to be the only threes that Fenerbahce hit as a team in the final period.
In fact, Fenerbahce’s 16 three-point makes came just one short of tying the all-time Turkish Airlines EuroLeague postseason high, set by Anadolu Efes Istanbul in Game 5 of its 2019 playoff series against FC Barcelona. Yet, given it had 14 after three quarters, it cooled off at the worst time possible, going 2 for 10 in the fourth quarter alone.
As well as Dorsey and Wilbekin, the other Fenerbahce players to knock down a three-pointer in Game 2 were Dyshawn Pierre (2), Marko Guduric (1) and Nick Calathes (1).
Speaking in the post-game press conference, Coach Jasikevicius was not happy with how the final period unfolded: “We really hit a lot of three-pointers, which helped us survive the first half. The third quarter was great, we held them to 11 points. But at the beginning of the fourth, it was a total defensive collapse. Immediately, we gave up an extremely high number of open looks. Again, we managed to survive that. At the end, the game was nobody’s and one rebound and one foul that was not necessarily decided the game.”
It is worth remembering that since Jasikevicius’s arrival at Fenerbahce ahead of Round 14, his team has already set a EuroLeague record for three-pointers after making 24 in a 118-88 Round 29 win against Valencia Basket. Next Wednesday night, the Turkish side’s marksmen will be looking to make Monaco in Game 3 as the series switches to Istanbul.