ISTANBUL
'Turkish delight' for reigning NBA Champions San Antonio Spurs as they beat Fenerbahce Ulker 96-90 in Istanbul as part of the 2014 NBA Global Games.
The Spurs started the exhibition match well, led by their superstar power-forward Tim Duncan who swiftly gained them 8 points - but Fenerbahce Ulker equalized the score 10-10 at the third minute mark of the first period.
The Spurs finished the first quarter ahead with an 8-0 run, 29-21.
The recent NBA champions opened up the margin to 13 points, 37-24, with six minutes to go in the first half, but Fenerbahce Ulker fought back and managed to pull off a 9-0 run under their newly acquired point guard Andrew Goudelock.
Despite a buzzer-beating three pointer by center Oguz Savas, Fenerbahce Ulker were behind 47-40 at half time against the Spurs.
Recent Turkish champions Fenerbahce Ulker showed resilience at the start of the third quarter, when they took the lead 64-63 with four minutes to go in that period. The Spurs, however, managed to regain the lead and were ahead 75-70 after the third period.
In the deciding quarter, the Spurs' French point-guard Tony Parker took control and refused to let his team lose against the Turkish side.
Parker scored the last four points for his team which meant that by the end of the match, the Spurs had beaten Fenerbahce Ulker 96-90.
38-year-old Tim Duncan was on top form for the Spurs, he finished with 23 points and 7 rebounds. Tony Parker joined his teammate with 22 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds for an all-around performance. Argentine superstar Manu Ginobili chipped in 12 points off the bench.
Andrew Goudelock scored a game-high 30 points for Fenerbahce Ulker and center Oguz Savas contributed 15 points, but this was not enough for the Turkish side. Point-guard Emir Preldzic was in good form as well - though he only personally scored six points, he assisted his teammates 11 times.
The defeat marked the second loss for Fenerbahce Ulker against an NBA team, as they lost to Oklahoma City Thunder 95-82 in 2013.
However, Fenerbahce Ulker are still the first Turkish side to beat an NBA team. In 2012, they won against the Boston Celtics with a score of 97-91.
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