Monaco defeated Fenerbahce on their home court by 93:88 in the second game of the EuroLeague quarterfinals.
The first game was decided only after overtime and an additional five minutes of play, with the win going to the Turkish team.
Despite suffering an injury in the first game, Scottie Wilbekin made it into Fenerbahce’s lineup, while Johnathan Motley and Yigit Mestoglu were unable to contribute. In the team from the Principality, Terry Tarpey did not play, nor did Kemba Walker.
Monaco opened the game with a 9:0 run led by Mike James. At the start, Sertac Sanli got injured and went to the locker room, not returning for the rest of the game. Tyler Dorsey kept Fenerbahce in the game by scoring the first 11 points for his team. Then, Donatas Motiejunas led another 13:0 run for Monaco, extending their lead to a maximum of 16 points. Scottie Wilbekin capped off the first quarter with a three-pointer, ending it with a score of 31:21 in favor of Monaco.
In the second quarter, Fenerbahce improved their defense and raised their three-point shooting percentage, closing the gap to just three points at 39:36. Monaco managed to regain a double-digit lead through excellent teamwork, but Fenerbahce’s 10 three-pointers out of 17 attempts kept them in the game, resulting in a halftime score of 54:50. Interestingly, Wilbekin ended this quarter with another three-pointer at the buzzer.
𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗧𝗧𝗜𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗕𝗘𝗞𝗜𝗡 𝗔𝗨 𝗕𝗨𝗭𝗭𝗘𝗥 ! 🚨
— SKWEEK (@skweektv) April 26, 2024
À la pause, c'est la Roca Team qui mène de 4 petits points face à Fenerbahçe. 🦾
📺 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗦𝗨𝗥 https://t.co/gS7u20BbFZ !#SKWEEKLive #EveryGameMatters pic.twitter.com/VmFCZlpIrm
Incredible Tyler Dorsey didn’t miss from three-point range, reaching 23 points early in the third quarter. Interestingly, Fenerbahce took the lead for the first time in the fifth minute of the third quarter (61:59). It seemed that the guests established a tempo of the game that suited them much better. Monaco’s offense completely stalled, evidenced by only 11 points scored in the third period, after which the guests led 74:65.
Mam Jaiteh and Jordan Loyd created a 7:0 run at the start of the decisive quarter, prompting Sarunas Jasikevicius to call a timeout with many criticisms of his players’ defense. That didn’t bear fruit, as Monaco extended the run to 12-1 and took a 77:75 lead. After several tie scores and missed opportunities on both sides, Elie Okobo broke the deadlock with a basket and a foul for Monaco to go up by four. At that point, Monaco’s run was 19:5.
The key sequence occurred after a 5:0 run by the home team when Alpha Diallo scored after an offensive rebound, and Jordan Loyd added five more points, which was enough to maintain the lead until the end of the game and tie the series at 1-1.
Monaco’s top scorers were Donatas Motiejunas with 18 points and Jordan Loyd with 15 points. Mike James once again didn’t perform up to his usual standard, finishing the game with just 8 points. For the Turkish team, Tyler Dorsey led with 25 points, while Scottie Wilbekin contributed 23 points.
Monaco managed to equalize the series at 1-1, and the third game will be played in Istanbul on May 1st, starting at 7:45 PM.
MONACO – FENERBAHCE 93:88 (31:21, 23:29, 11:24, 28:14)
Venue: “Gaston Medecin”, Monaco
Referees: Lottermoser, Vilius, Aliaga
Monaco: Okobo 13, Loyd 15, Blossomgame 8, Brown 11, Diallo 8, Cornelie, Jaiteh 2, Motiejunas 18, Ouattara, Strazel 5, Hall 5, James 8
Fenerbahce: Wilbekin 23, Sanli, Papagiannis 6, Hayes-Davis 10, Biberovic 2, Noua, Pierre 8, Guduric 5, Dorsey 25, Calathes 7, Madar, Sestina 2