Turkish club Fenerbahçe defeated the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets 101-96 on the night of Oct. 5, starting its two-game U.S. tour on a high note.
Jan Vesely scored 18 points and six rebounds while Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 17 points and three assists to lift the Turkish powerhouse to its second victory over an NBA team after toppling the Boston Celtics in 2012.
After trailing by one point at the end of the first quarter, Fenerbahçe outscored the Nets 57-46 in the second and third quarters to open up a 10-point gap, which was the largest in the game.
A balanced fourth quarter saw the Istanbul team hold on, as the result at Barclays Center marked the 12th time a Euroleague side was victorious over an NBA team.
The NBA has scored 47 wins against Euroleague teams since 2003.
Luigi Datome chipped in 16 points, five rebounds and five assists for Fenerbahçe, while Kostas Sloukas recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists.
Brook Lopez finished with 18 points for the home side and Thomas Robinson had 12 points and 16 rebounds.
Nets coach Lionel Hollins dismissed the loss as a result of Fenerbahçe simply practicing more than the Nets ahead of the game.
“My understanding is they’ve been practicing since September, and this is their fifth game,” Nets coach Lionel Hollins said. “We’ve been practicing for five days and this is our first game. That’s a big difference. All that being said, we were right there and had our chances.”
The six-time Turkish league champion will face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Oct. 9 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
