Fenerbahce fights off Zalgiris in Game 3 30

Fenerbahce Istanbul went back ahead in its series against Zalgiris Kaunas with a 57-66 victory over the Lithuanian champions in Game 3 at Zalgirio Arena. Fenerbahce now leads the best-of-five series 2-1.

Marko Guduric stepped up for Fenerbahce with 17 points and Jan Vesely added 10, while Luigi Datome contributed 8 points, 7 rebounds and a career-high 4 steals.

Nate Wolters paced Zalgiris with 15 points.

Fenerbahce powered the offensive glass for 5 offensive rebounds in the game’s first 4 minutes, but Aaron White and Thomas Walkup teamed up on a 9-0 run that gave the hosts an 11-5 lead 6 minutes into the game. Fenerbahce faced further trouble when Vesely took a seat with 2 fouls. The visitors drew within 2 thanks to Nikola Kalinic and Kostas Sloukas, but Walkup went coast-to-coast to beat the first quarter buzzer with a layup that made it 19-15 after 10 minutes.

A Leo Westermann triple early in the second quarter put Zalgiris up by 7 and Edgaras Ulanovas boosted it to 26-17. Brandon Davies was called for an unsportsmanlike foul on Vesely – his third – and came out with 5 minutes left in the half. Vesely dunked for his first basket of the game, which narrowed the gap to 32-26 with 2 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Sloukas ended the half with a pull-up three-pointer to bring Fenerbahce within 34-31 at halftime.

Vesely kept the visitors’ momentum going with a steal and slam to start the second half. Back-to-back threes by Guduric gave Fenerbahce its first lead since the opening minutes, 37-39. Davies got going inside for Zalgiris to even the score at 41-41, however, Datome drilled a third-chance three-pointer and Guduric added free throws as Fenerbahce claimed its biggest lead, 41-47. Davies free throws got Zalgiris back to 46-49 through three quarters.

White turned an offensive rebound into Sloukas’s fourth foul and 2 free throws to bring Zalgiris within 1 point. Guduric struck from deep again to keep Fenerbahce ahead. Wolters’s third triple of the game made it 53-54 with 3 and a half minutes to go. Melli responded with a three and Vesely dunked to give Fenerbahce a 54-59 cushion. A Melih Mahmutoglou triple with 42 seconds to go all but put the game on ice as Fenerbahce held on for the victory.