Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul secured an 88-80 win over Olympiacos Piraeus on Tuesday, January 6, at Ulker Sports and Event Hall, closing the last unplayed matchup between the two EuroLeague contenders this season.
The Round 14 game had been postponed earlier in the campaign, leaving both sides unbeaten against each other until this meeting in Istanbul. The visitors arrived short-handed without Nikola Milutinov and newest addition Tyrique Jones, which placed additional strain on their interior rotation.
The contest stayed balanced for most of the night, with neither team building more than a two-possession cushion through the first 32 minutes. Defensive discipline and half-court execution defined the early phases, while pace remained controlled on both ends.
Momentum shifted with 7:58 left in the fourth quarter after Olympiacos forward Donta Hall picked up his fourth foul. Fenerbahce immediately increased rim pressure and pushed the ball in transition, changing the rhythm of the game.
Brandon Boston Jr. ignited the decisive run with a block on Monte Morris, followed by a three-point play, a put-back dunk, and a driving layup in quick succession. Those sequences flipped both the score and the energy inside the arena.
Wade Baldwin IV then took command of the offense during the closing stretch. After Evan Fournier briefly put the Greek side ahead 66-64, Baldwin responded with two three-pointers and created scoring opportunities for teammates during an 11-4 run that proved decisive.
The guard found Nicolo Melli for a corner three, scored off the dribble, and later assisted Tarik Biberovic on another triple. That sequence pushed the lead to 87-76 in the penultimate minute and removed any doubt about the outcome.
Baldwin finished with 17 points, 11 assists, and six rebounds for his second double-double of the season, matching his career-high assist total. Boston added 14 points, while Talen Horton-Tucker scored 17.
Fenerbahce’s shooting profile told the story of its comeback. The Turkish club missed all 13 of its three-point attempts in the first half, then converted 10 of 18 from deep after the break, opening the floor during the decisive stretch.
Olympiacos received 24 points from Sasha Vezenkov, who was efficient inside the arc and perfect from the free-throw line. Fournier and Tyler Dorsey each added 15 points, while Hall contributed 16, but perimeter struggles limited the Reds to 21.7 percent shooting from three.
The victory marked Fenerbahce’s 10th win in its last 11 games and improved its record to 13-6. Olympiacos dropped to 11-8 after its third loss in four outings.
Fenerbahce will travel to Dubai for its Round 21 matchup on Thursday, while Olympiacos returns home to host FC Bayern Munich on Friday.
