Baldwin propels Baskonia past Fenerbahce to spoil Vesely's return / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Aitor Arrizabalaga / Contributor - Getty Images Credit Aitor Arrizabalaga / Contributor - Getty Images

Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (11-15) continue riding their hot streak, winning the fourth straight game against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (10-14) 77-62 (20-19, 12-21, 22-13, 23-9).

Player of the Game EFF 25 Wade Baldwin Points 24 Accuracy 9-19 Rebounds 6 Assists 6

Baskonia started the fourth quarter hot, going on an 11-0 run, led by Wade Baldwin, Alec Peters, and Simone Fontecchio to gain a 12-point lead (68-56). Baskonia held Fenerbahce to just nine points in the final period, coming away with a 15-point victory.

Wade Baldwin was phenomenal for the winners, finishing with 24 points (4/10 2PT, 5/9 3PT, 1/2 FT), 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, and 25 PIR. Five 3-pointers is Baldwin's new career-high at the EuroLeague.

"We have a sense of urgency now, we've got two more games to go," Baldwin said. "A big one against Fenerbahce, they absolutely killed us when we went there, so we owed them a big favor. I’m happy that we're playing well and finding our rhythm. I went a bit Steph Curry out there, the shots were flowing and I'm happy we won the game.”

Fenerbahce lost despite the return of Jan Vesely and Pierria Henry. Vesely finished with a team-high 15 points (7/7 2PT, 1/2 FT), 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, and 23 PIR.

Henry added 3 points (0/4 2PT, 1/3 3PT), 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 turnover, and 6 PIR.

Nando De Colo did not play in the second half after sustaining an injury in the first part of the contest. He ended with 8 points (1/2 2PT, 1/2 3PT, 3/3 FT), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover, and 11 PIR.

After a tight first period that included eight lead changes, Jan Vesely, Devin Booker, and Dyshawn Pierre orchestrated an 11-2 run to finish the first half with an eight-point lead at halftime (40-32).

However, Baskonia stormed back in the third quarter, going on an 11-2 run to regain the lead after Wade Baldwin's third 3-pointer (54-50). Marko Guduric capped off the period with a 3-pointer of his own, cutting Fenerbahce's deficit to one going into the final period (53-54).

"They opened the second half with inexplicable easy threes," Fenerbahce coach Djordjevic admitted. "We lost our momentum and we lost our player on the ball, Nando De Colo, in the first half due to some injury. I hope it’s not that serious but we couldn't play him in the second half and he was one of the keys that we had a good first half."

Baskonia: Wade Baldwin 24 (6 REB, 6 AST), Alec Peters 16, Steven Enoch 12 (9 REB), Rokas Giedraitis 12, Simone Fontecchio 10, Matthew Costello 3 (6 REB).

Fenerbahce: Jan Vesely 15 (9 REB), Marko Guduric 12 (6 AST), Devin Booker 9, Nando De Colo 8.

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