Devon Hall and Marko Guduric both enjoyed big roles on the offensive end, too
Second-half hustle proved key in Fenerbahce's derby win over Efes
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Regular Season
Round 19 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul made it two wins from two in this season's Istanbul derby by downing Anadolu Efes Istanbul 84-76 in Round 19's Rivalry Series clash, with coach Saras Jasikevicius's squad securing their 11th win of the campaign thanks to their great hustle after the break.
It was a back-and-forth first half in which Efes dominated the boards, as the guests outrebounded Fenerbahce 17-14 and only allowed its opponent to get 2 offensive boards. Fenerbahce came back with a different mentality after the interval, much more focused on rebounding well at both ends and preventing Efes from circulating the ball the way it did before the break.
It definitely paid off. Fenerbahce won the battle of the boards in the second half 24-17, grabbing 8 offensive rebounds and only allowing Efes to get 3 of those. Additionally, Fenerbahce finished the game with 19 assists and only 8 turnovers, remarkable numbers if you take into consideration that its three main ballhandlers are injured: Arturs Zagars, Scottie Wilbekin and Wade Baldwin.
Devon Hall and Marko Guduric were at the forefront of everything on offense, combining for 28 points, 13 assists and just 2 turnovers. Their effectiveness both scoring and sharing the ball allowed Fenerbahce to keep a good offensive flow throughout the game. On the other hand, Efes was limited to just 3 second-half assists. The guests had the same amount of turnovers as the hosts, 9, but only had 10 assists.
Fenerbahce ended a three-game losing streak in which it allowed its opponents to score 90 points or more in all three of those defeats. This time, it limited Efes to just 76 points. The guests were only able to hit 2-of-12 three-pointers (16.7% 3FG) after the break, which was another big key to this game.
"This was exactly the game to win from the defensive standpoint," Coach Jasikevicius said afterward. "And I thought our intensity and our dedication to the defensive end was great for the whole game. They had 40 points at halftime and I believe they scored 16 in the third [quarter] if I am not mistaken, and in the fourth, we were also looking pretty good.
"Then we relaxed a little bit, but like I said, this is exactly how we need to win the games right now when we are a little bit lacking talent – on the defensive end – with rebounding and dedication."