Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul escaped Athens with an 85-83 road win over Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens on Friday night after Wade Baldwin banked in a contested jumper at the final buzzer.
The victory lifted the Turkish side to 20-7 and kept it atop the EuroLeague standings, while the Greens dropped to 16-12 in a tightly packed playoff race.
Tarik Biberovic appeared set to headline the night after pouring in a career-high 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting, including 6-of-7 from beyond the arc.
The sharpshooter hit three triples in the opening quarter and surpassed the 1,000-point mark in EuroLeague play as Fenerbahce built a 25-19 lead after 10 minutes.
Panathinaikos responded in the second period behind Juancho Hernangomez, who posted 12 first-half points and nine rebounds.
The Spanish forward grabbed three offensive boards before halftime, which led to six second-chance points and helped the hosts take a 42-41 edge into the break.
Baldwin struggled early and went scoreless in the first half on 0-of-5 shooting.
The second half turned into a possession-by-possession battle, with neither side creating separation.
Fenerbahce moved ahead 82-78 with 15 seconds left after Baldwin and Talen Horton-Tucker each converted two free throws.
Juancho answered with a quick three-pointer, Mikael Jantunen split a pair at the line, and TJ Shorts drove for a layup to tie the game at 83-83 with 2.5 seconds remaining.
Out of a timeout, head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius drew up the final play for Baldwin.
The guard caught the inbound pass, rose from just inside the arc over Jerian Grant, and banked in the game-winner as the horn sounded.
Baldwin finished with 13 points, nine assists and four rebounds, shooting 3-of-4 on two-point attempts and 4-of-4 at the line.
Nando De Colo added 10 points and eight assists, while Nicolo Melli contributed 10 rebounds to anchor the defensive effort.
Fenerbahce shot 13-of-30 from three-point range and recorded 25 assists on 28 made field goals, reflecting strong ball movement against an aggressive defense.
Panathinaikos shot 33-of-64 from the field and received 17 points from Kendrick Nunn and 18 from Juancho.
The reigning champions have now won 11 of their last 12 games and continue to solidify their position ahead of the EuroLeague stretch run.
Fenerbahce will next host Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade on Feb. 25, while Panathinaikos welcomes Paris Basketball on Feb. 26.
