The home team prevailed in the home stretch as Jordan Loyd found his range when the chips were down
Fourth-quarter defense, Loyd heroics saw Monaco pull through against Fenerbahce
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AS Monaco came close to falling two games behind in its best-of-five Turkish Airlines EuroLeague playoff series against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, but ironclad defense in the last 10 minutes of a captivating Game 2 helped the French side to a lifeline 93-88 home win.
The outcome evened the tie, which is now bound for a doubleheader in Istanbul where Fenerbahce will arguably be the slight favorite to wrap it up and advance to the Final Four in Berlin. However, Monaco will be confident of snatching at least one road win and taking the series back to the principality for a potentially decisive Game 5, having shown a great deal of resolve and character to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
The hosts appeared to be in cruise control after opening up a 27-13 lead in the first quarter, but the game took a vicious turn for Monaco after the visitors had flipped the contest on its head and carved out a 65-74 advantage heading into the fourth period.
Big night by Motiejunas, Loyd
In the end, Monaco thrived from stepping up on defense when it mattered most, with Donatas Motiejunas and Jordan Loyd providing the offensive spark to compensate for a modest night by the EuroLeague’s all-time top scorer Mike James, who failed to hit double digits in points for the first time this season, netting 8 points, although he did rack up 7 rebounds and as many assists.
Motiejunas shined throughout as he paced Monaco with 18 points, while Loyd stepped up to the plate in the fourth quarter when he netted 11 of his 15 points, including a crunch three-pointer with 12 seconds left which sealed the contest.
Both men drew praise from head coach Sasa Obradovic, who was relieved after seeing his team force shorthanded Fenerbahce into submission. With big man Johnathan Motley already missing, the Turkish also lost center Sertac Sanli who limped off the court after twisting his ankle in the first quarter.
“At the end, Jordan [Loyd] – especially in this last quarter – this is why we have him and why we missed him,” the Serbian tactician said in the post-game press conference. “He's not at his maximum in his [conditioning], but obviously this is the guy who made the difference. And how outstanding was D-Mo today? On both ends. Hitting almost all shots and being a threat until the end."
A game with twists and turns
Motiejunas acknowledged it took a massive effort to overpower Fenerbahce, with the visitors shooting 10 of 17 from downtown in the first half before its offense came to a screeching halt in the fourth quarter. Tyler Dorsey and Scottie Wilbekin scored 48 points between them for the visitors but Nigel Hayes-Davis was below his lofty standards, netting a mere 10 after shooting 0 of 4 from long range.
“It was a rollercoaster,” Motiejunas stated. “We started really well, then we fell behind but in the end we managed to go up again and I am really happy that the team showed character this time. A lot of emotions and a lot of energy, the guys left a lot on the floor and it only shows how tough this series is going to be. Every game is going to be a battle and we now have to get at least one win on the road.”
Loyd stressed that Monaco had to improve in many departments if the French team is to stand a chance of coming out on top in the tie, with Fenerbahce’s fervent home crowd bound to galvanize the Turkish side as the series moves to Istanbul next week.
“That’s a great team we played against,” Loyd commented. “We played some pretty decent basketball but still found ourselves in a tough spot. It’s an amazing win but we still have to clean up a lot of things.”