Zalgiris Kaunas (6-4) suffered their first EuroLeague defeat of the season at Zalgirio Arena. Andrea Trinchieri’s team lost 65-72 (21-17, 5-26, 21-9, 18-20) to Fenerbahce Istanbul (8-2) in front of their home crowd.
Nigel Hayes-Davis led the winners with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Marko Guduric added 16 points while Sertac Sanli and Arturs Zagars each had 10 for Fenerbahce.
Lonnie Walker IV, on his home debut, added 19 points for Zalgiris. Sylvain Francisco chipped in with 13 for the hosts.
Zagars and Hayes-Davis got Fenerbahce going, then Walker followed a three-point play with a step-back triple for a 6-4 Zalgiris lead. Ignas Brazdeikis took over with a driving layup that Hayes-Davis matched with a jumper. Bonzie Colson dunked, but Walker struck once again from beyond the arc and Brazdeikis's three-point play boosted the hosts' lead to 14-8. Hayes-Davis drained a triple, Lukas Lekavicius hit a close jumper and Deividas Sirvydis added a coast-to-coast layup for a 18-12 score. Sanli stepped up for Fenerbahce and Guduric erased Sirvydis's triple with a three-point play that kept the guests within 21-17 after 10 minutes.
Sanli buried a three-pointer early in the second quarter. Walker sank a floater in the lane that Guduric bettered with a triple. He got help from Sanli to put Fenerbahce ahead, 23-25. Dyshawn Pierre scored in the low post, Zagars added a three-pointer and Tarik Biberovic's play made Zalgiris call a timeout, 23-32. Zagars took over with a wild acrobatic layup that capped a 0-14 Fenerbahce run. Bryant Dunston stepped up with an alley-oop layup, then Guduric, Pierre and Colson boosted the guests' lead to 26-43 at halftime.
Dunston took over with an off-balanced three-point play right after the break, then Walker struck from downtown to make Fenerbahce call a timeout at 32-43. Arnas Butkevicius and Francisco each hit free throws to cap a 9-0 Zalgiris run. Colson rescued Fenerbahce with a fast-break layup and Hayes-Davis responded to Mike Mitchell's driving basket with a corner triple. Francisco followed a five-meter jumper with a bomb from downtown that gave Zalgiris fans hope at 42-48. Guduric kept pacing Fenerbahce but didn't find much help from his teammates. Meanwhile, Walker and Edgaras Ulanovas brought the hosts even closer, 47-52, after 30 minutes.
Sanli banked in a turnaround jumper early in the fourth quarter. Dovydas Giedraitis solved a broken offensive set with a layup that Hayes-Davis improved with a three-pointer for a 48-57 Fenerbahce lead. Mitchell scored in the paint, but Guduric answered from beyond the arc. Francisco then kept Zalgiris within 53-60 with 6 minutes left. Mitchell and Zagars traded layups before Pierre gave Fenerbahce fresh air at 55-64. Francisco scored in penetration, Nicolo Melli answered with a tip-in and Walker's three-point play brought the hosts as close as 60-66. Mitchell ignited the crowd with a three-point play, which was followed by Hayes-Davis swishing a turnaround jumper, but Francisco had a three-point play, 65-68, with 1:06 left. Hayes-Davis missed, but so did Francisco from downtown with 6.0 seconds left. Zagars sealed the outcome from the foul line.