Turkish League Finals, Game 3: May 30, 2008
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Turk Telekom of Ankara remained alive in the Turkish League Finals by beating defending champion Fenerbahce Ulker 87-75 Friday after losing the first two games in the best-of-seven series on the road in Istanbul. Telekom hosts Game 4 on Sunday with hopes of evening the series at 2-2. Kris Lang scored 21 of his 25 points in the first half and added 8 rebounds to lead Turk Telekom. Khalid El Amin recorded 24 points and 8 assists and Erwin Dudley had 16 points and 7 rebounds for the home team. Omer Asik had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocks for Fener, Semih Erden posted 13 points and Willie scored 11 and dished 9 assists. Turk Telekom was without Tutku Acik, who was ejected in Game 2 and was serving a one-game ban, but had Muratcan Guler instead of him, stopping Solomon very well. El Amin and Lang dominated the first and second quarters of the game by teaming up in offense as Telekom built a 51-41 halftime lead. Fener made its move early in the fourth quarter with a 0-9 run to tie the game at 73-73, but Dudley, Lang and Chris Williams wouldn't let Telekom fall as the hosts held on for their first win of the series.
Turk Telekom looked confident from the start. A Muratcan Guler layup made the score 21-17 and Khalid El Amin's jumper at the end of the first quarter gave the hosts a 27-24 lead. El Amin scored 12 and Kris Lang 7 of their team's 27 first-period points. A Mirsad Turkcan three-pointer tied the game at 27-27 at the beginning of the second quarter, but Lang was on fire, throwing down alley-oops and soaring for tip-ins as he pushed Telekom to a double-digit lead with another alley-oop. Willie Solomon netted 5 points to make it 41-35, but a Guler three-pointer answered him. El Amin's buzzer-beating triple ended the first half at 51-41. Fener tried to come back in the second half through Damir Mrsic and Omer Asik, but Telekom always had Dudley inside as the home team went into the last period up 70-62. Fener reeled off 9 unanswered points from Solomon, Semih Erden and Tarence Kinsey to tie the game at 73-73, however Dudley, Lang and Chris Williams didn't let Telekom fall and the hosts extended the lead again and won the game by 12.
| Finals Playoffs, best of 7 games |
| Record | Team | Game 1 | G. 2 | G. 3 | G. 4 | G. 5 | G. 6 | G. 7 | | 2 | Fenerbahce Ulker(3) | 100 | 99 | 75 | June1 | *- | *- | *- | | 1 | Turk Telekom (4) | 72 | 87 | 87 | - | - | - | - |
*In Turkey, if one team won both regular season games between them,
their playoff series begins 1-0 in that team's favor.
| Finals games | | Game 1 | Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Turk Telekom | 100-72 | May 25 | | Game 2 | Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Turk Telekom | 99-87 | May 27 | | Game 3 | Turk Telekom vs. Fenerbahce Ulker | 87-75 | May 30 | | Game 4 | Turk Telekom vs. Fenerbahce Ulker | - | June 1 | | Game 5 | Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Turk Telekom | - | *- | | Game 6 | Turk Telekom vs. Fenerbahce Ulker | - | *- | | Game 7 | Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Turk Telekom | - | *- |
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Gökhan Türe, Turkey
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