Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul protected its place at the top of the EuroLeague standings on Thursday by escaping Adidas Arena with a dramatic 92-90 road win over Paris Basketball after a chaotic final sequence.
The league leaders improved to 20-7 and maintained breathing room in first place, while the French side fell to 8-19 despite pushing the reigning champion to the final possession.
Paris controlled large stretches of the night and built a 16-point lead late in the third quarter by attacking in transition and spreading the floor, forcing the Turkish club into rushed offensive decisions.
The turning point came during the closing minutes of the third quarter and early in the fourth, when the Istanbul powerhouse tightened its rotation and leaned on experience to change the tempo.
Tarik Biberovic sparked the rally with eight consecutive points in just over a minute, many coming from the free-throw line after Paris committed three quick technical fouls during a loss of composure.
Wade Baldwin IV, Talen Horton-Tucker, Nicolo Melli and Nando De Colo then controlled the offense, emphasizing half-court execution and smart spacing to erase the deficit.
De Colo delivered one of the decisive plays with a corner three-pointer that broke an 83-83 tie with 77 seconds remaining, a shot that shifted momentum toward the visitors during the closing stretch.
The closing seconds brought more drama when Horton-Tucker made free throws to extend the lead before Nadir Hifi answered with a three-pointer to cut the margin to one with six seconds left.
A frantic inbounds sequence followed, and Horton-Tucker eventually drew a foul with 0.3 seconds remaining, converting one free throw and intentionally missing the second to prevent a final Paris attempt.
Biberovic finished with 19 points to lead a balanced scoring effort, while Horton-Tucker added 15 and Baldwin contributed 14 points and six assists as Fenerbahce recorded 21 assists and dominated key late possessions.
Hifi paced the home team with 23 points and three three-pointers, and Justin Robinson and Jared Rhoden added 14 and 16 points respectively, but Paris struggled to close defensive possessions during the comeback run.
