Maccabi Tel Aviv dropped their 5th Euroleague game in a row this time falling to Fenerbahce 90-79 in Istanbul. The loss drops the Yellow & Blue’s record 7-8 on the season with Anadolu EFES up next on Thursday night at Yad Eliyahu.

Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s squad fell behind early as Devin Booker, Nando de Colo and jan Vesely dictated the pace of play, but Keenan Evans kept Maccabi in the game going down by only 5-points, 42-37 at halftime. However, Sasha Djordjevic’s charges came out flying in the third quarter and scored at will as Pierria Henry and Achille Polonara led the hosts to a 28-14 period to bump up their advantage to 70-51 after thirty minutes of action. James Nunnally tried to will his team back into the game in the fourth quarter but at that point it was too little too late to comeback from the double digit deficit.

Nunnally scored 18 points, Scottie Wilbekin added 14 points and Evans chipped in with 13 points in the loss. Booker led the way for Fenerbahce with 22 points, De Colo added 21 points while Henry and Marko Guduric each scored 9 points in the loss.

“The third quarter was not good for us,” explained Sfairopoulos. “With a 22 point difference we tried to come back and we got to 5 points, but we missed some open shots and missed a rebound and they scored. Those plays kept us from getting closer to Fenerbahce.”

Keenan Evans and Scottie Wilbekin opened the game up with triples but Marko Guduric came right back from downtown and Jan Vesely fed Devin Booker for a mega alley-oop dunk, however, Derrick Williams also went from deep to give Maccabi Tel Aviv an 11-5 lead midway through the first quarter. Vesely and Zizic traded points in the paint, Booker and Dyshawn Pierre found points while Achille Polonara went from outside and then inside as Wilbekin dialed up long distance to end the frame with Fenerbahce up 23-18.

Angelo Caloiaro scored a corner 3-ball to begin the second quarter, Sehmus Hazer and Nando de Colo bumped up the lead but Kameron Taylor found points from deep to keep Maccabi hanging around but down 30-24 with 7:29 left in the first half. Polonara fed Vesely for a big time dunk, Zizic, Evans and Wilbekin answered for Maccabi but De Colo brilliantly got the ball to Hazer who scored a corner 3-pointer as Sasha Djordjevic’s squad took a 42-37 lead into halftime.

Pierria Henry scored his first points of the game with a triple to get the third quarter underway, Booker scored again and Dyshawn Pierre nailed a 3-pointer to give Fenerbahce an 11-point, 50-39 lead forcing Maccabi coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos to call time out. Booker and Henry scored from downtown, Vesely put down a dunk, Taylor, Evans and Caloiaro tried to cut the lead but Guduric and Polonara went from deep as Fenerbahce’s offensive clinic gave them a 70-51 advantage after 30 minutes of play.

James Nunnally scored from deep and added points in the paint and Williams drilled one from beyond the arc as did Nunnally to get to within 8-points, 72-64 with 7:42 left in the fourth quarter. Zizic and Williams put in points as did Nunnally but De Colo once again scored to keep the hosts in front 79-70 with 3:45 remaining in regulation time. Wilbekin nailed a triple but Booker answered with a pair of baskets and De Colo scored as well to sew up the 11-point win for Fenerbahce.