Fenerbahce won Game 3 of the EuroLeague playoffs against Monaco by 89:78.
John Brown and Terry Tarpey were not on Monaco’s roster, while Johnathan Motley and Raul Neto did not play for Fenerbahce due to injury.
The game in Istanbul had a true playoff atmosphere. On one side, Tyler Dorsey dominated, while on the other side, the most efficient players were Donatas Motiejunas and Alpha Diallo. The result was tied when Mike James decided to “steal the show” and give Monaco the advantage – 21:19.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Marko Guduric scored six points, bringing a turnaround for Fenerbahce. Jordan Loyd showed some good sequences on the other side, but it wasn’t enough for Monaco to take the lead. A much-improved offensive performance by Sarunas Jasikevicius‘s team resulted in a seven-point lead at the end of the first half – 47:40.
Motiejunas started the third period in great rhythm, but Nick Calathes had a response on the other side. With good sequences from Diallo, Monaco remained in a close score, until Scottie Wilbekin and Nate Sestina led Fenerbahce to a double-digit lead – 69:58. Sasa Obradovic‘s team looked very poor during the last three minutes, which complicated their situation significantly before the start of the fourth quarter.
Fenerbahce had a slightly weaker start to the fourth quarter, allowing Monaco to capitalize with a 7:0 run, narrowing the gap to just four points (75-71). The visitors failed to capitalize on their opportunities, especially Mike James, making too many mistakes that Fenerbahce knew how to punish and secure the win.
The top scorer for Fenerbahce was Tarik Biberovic with 14 points. Alpha Diallo led Monaco with 23 points.
The next game between Fenerbahce and Monaco will be played in two days in Istanbul (at 7:45 PM).
FENERBAHCE – MONACO 89:78 (19:21, 28:19, 22:18, 20:20)
Arena: Ulker Arena, Istanbul
Referees: Rocha, Javor, Perez
Fenerbahce: Wilbekin 11, Sanli 1, Papagiannis 8, Hayes-Davis 10, Biberovic 14, Noua, Pierre 8, Guduric 11, Dorsey 8, Calathes 13, Madar, Sestina 5.
Monaco: Okobo 2, Loyd 11, Blossomgame 11, Diallo 23, Cornelie 2, Jaiteh 4, Walker, Motiejunas 10, Ouattara, Strazel 4, Hall, James 11.