France makes an incredible comeback to beat Turkey in overtime / News - Basketnews.com

France mounted an incredible comeback at the end of the fourth quarter and came through in overtime against Turkey behind dominant Rudy Gobert.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

After making an almost-impossible comeback at the end of the fourth quarter, Rudy Gobert dominated in overtime against Turkey and brought France a 87-86 (18-11, 25-24, 6-22, 28-20, 10-9) win in the Round of 16.

Player of the Game EFF 24 Rudy Gobert Points 20 Accuracy 7-11 Rebounds 17 Assists 2

France started dominating early. With an overwhelming advantage in the paint, Vincent Collet's team took advantage of having three high-level centers. Turkey's head coach Ergin Ataman received a technical foul in the second quarter, soon after followed by a Cedi Osman technical.

Although France had a 16-point lead in the first half (31-15), Turkey did not back down and the teams were separated by just eight heading into the half (43-35).

Things drastically changed in the third quarter. When France had an 11-point lead (49-38), Turkey went on a fantastic 19-0 run to gain the first lead in the game and head into the final 10 minutes already leading by eight (57-49).

Buhrahan Tuncer was the unlikely hero in the third quarter. After the first 30 minutes, the guard had made all six three-pointers, four of them during the third quarter.

France battled back, though, and the teams were separated by just a single point after two minutes of play in the fourth quarter. With just one minute remaining, Evan Fournier made a tough last-second floater to put France up by one (73-72).

However, Fournier fouled Furkan Korkmaz on the ensuing possession, and the Turkish guard shot 3 free throws, making all of them (75-73). With just over half a minute remaining, France had a chance to tie the game or take the lead.

With 24 seconds remaining, Fournier stepped out of bounds, leaving Turkey in the driving seat to finish the game. Additionally, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot committed an unsportsmanlike foul against Cedi Osman. However, Osman missed both free throws and then failed to inbound the ball, leaving France with another chance (77-75).

Turkey / Schedule

Bulgaria Turkey87-101 Turkey Georgia83-88 Belgium Turkey63-78 Turkey Spain69-72 Turkey France86-87

Although Fournier missed a layup with just 3 seconds to go, Rudy Gobert followed up with a putback dunk, tying the game (77-7). The last attack from Turkey was not successful, and the teams had to go to overtime.

Down by four (82-86), Tuncer pushed Gobert in the back during an alley-opp, receiving an unsportsmanlike foul. Gobert converted only one free throw, and Turkey answered with four straight points (86-87).

Gobert missed both free throws once again with 12 seconds left, but Turkey did not manage to even attempt a shot, and France was ultimately victorious.

Gobert finished the match with 20 points and 17 rebounds in his account, 5 of each being made during overtime. Additionally, the Minnesota Timberwolves center drew 7 fouls and shot 11 free throws, making 6.

France decisively won the rebounding battle 45 to 31 and scored more than twice more points in the paint than Turkey (50 to 22). Besides Gobert, only three French players shot free throws in the game, making 3 out of 3 combined.

Thomas Heurtel and Evan Fournier were joint-second in scoring with 13 points each. Fournier added 6 rebounds and 3 assists, while Heurtel also contributed with 4 rebounds and 7 assists.

The unlikely shooter Bugrahan Tuncer was the leading scorer on the Turkish national team with 22 points and 6 made triples out of 10.

Turkey: Bugrahan Tuncer 22 (2/5 2PT, 6/10 3PT), Furkan Korkmaz 18 (2/5 2PT, 2/7 3PT, 8/9 FT, 6 TO), Sertac Sanli 12 (2/5 3PT, 7 REB), Cedi Osman 11 (2/5 2PT, 1/5 3PT, 4/6 FT, 6 REB, 5 AST).

France: Rudy Gobert 20 (7/11 2PT, 6/11 FT, 17 REB), Evan Fournier 13 (3/5 2PT, 2/8 3PT, 6 REB), Thomas Heurtel 13 (7 AST).

Rudy Gobert's highlights:

Full game highlights:

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