Kyle Alexander stepped up big at Stozice Arena
Kyle Alexander led Turk Telekom with a rare performance
The visiting team was able to rely on another strong effort from center Kyle Alexander as Turk Telekom Ankara grabbed a pivotal 74-80 road win over Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana in the Slovenian capital on Wednesday. Coach Erdem Can's team is now 2-0 against Cedevita, which is setting itseld up to be a direct opponent in the playoff race.
Turk Telekom relied on its frontcourt to make things happen all game long. Yoan Makoundou already reached double digits in scoring before the end of the first quarter, leading Turk Telekom to a 19-28 lead after 10 minutes. He kept finding his spots all night long, both inside and outside the arc. Makoundou finished the game with 22 points on 5-of-6 two-point shooting and 4 of 5 on three-pointers. He added 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks for a PIR of 26.
With Braian Angola sidelined and Anthony Brown limited to 8 points, Makoundou was ready to provide the fireworks. And his frontcourt mate, Alexander, was there to take care of business in the paint.
Alexander had a truly iconic performance, finishing the game with 11 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals and 6 blocks. He became just the second player in EuroCup history to reach double digits in points and rebounds while getting at least 5 steals and 5 blocks.
In order to look for a similar individual performance, you need to back to the 2006-07 EuroCup season. Ksistof Lavrinovic of UNICS Kazan had 13 points, 16 rebounds, 7 steals and 6 blocks in a 106-88 home win against EiffelTowers Ben Bosch on November 14, 2006.
Game Videos
Turk Telekom led most of the way, but Cedevita used an 11-0 run to take a 71-70 lead with over 4 minutes left. Makoundou and Alexander stepped up big when their team needed them, too. Makoundou quickly hit a jumper to put Turk Telekom ahead for good, then had a big block on Devante Jones. Alexander had a dunk, 2 blocks, 2 rebounds and 1 steal in the final 3 minutes to round out his incredible game.
"It has been a crazy season for us, up and down, but this is a big win for us. We needed it," Alexander said after the game. "And I hope we can start building on this as a team."