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ISTANBUL, Turkey – Former University of New Orleans standout Bo McCalebb helped lead Fenerbahce Ulker to a 97-91 victory over the NBA's Boston Celtics on Friday evening at Ulker Sports Arena.
The victory for the Istanbul-based Fenerbahce was the 11
th for a EuroLeague club over a squad from the NBA dating back to a Maccabi Tel Aviv win over the Washington Bullets in 1978. The win was Fenerbahce's fourth in four days.
McCalebb came into his own in the second half scoring 17 of his 21 points after the break. Most of the offensive production came against NBA All-Star Rajon Rondo, who guarded McCalebb for the majority of the contest before sitting midway through the fourth quarter.
McCalebb shot 9 of 14 from the field while consistently attacking the basket. When not scoring, McCalebb was able to create additional opportunities for his Fenerbahce teammates by grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists. The Turkish squad also benefitted from 25 Boston turnovers.
Fenerbahce's Romain Sato led all scorers with 24 points. Sato scored 16 of his points in the first half, which Fenerbahce completed with a 55-45 advantage.
The Turkish squad led most of the opening quarter before the Celtics received a three-point basket from Rondo with 2.5 seconds left in the period to take a 27-26 lead.
The margin between the teams remained close for much of the second quarter before Fenerbahce outscored Boston 8-2 in the final 2:34 before the intermission to jump out to a 10-point lead at the half.
With McCalebb scoring nine points and adding two assists in the third quarter, the Celtics struggled to keep within 10 points of the hosts. Boston was able to trim the lead down to six in the final minute before heading into the final quarter trailing by seven.
The Celtics struggled to overcome the deficit, getting as close as three points of Fenerbahce with 1:19 remaining in the contest. The final points of the contest came on a Sato three-pointer with 1:04 left, courtesy of McCalebb's final assist.
Boston missed all five field goal attempts in the final minute of play.
Leading the Celtics were the pair of Jarred Sullinger and Jeff Green with 16 points apiece. Rondo narrowly missed a double-double with 13 points and nine assists while Jason Terry contributed 12 additional points for Boston.
Fenerbahce will open Turkish Basketball League play on Oct. 13 against Erdemir. Before embarking on domestic play, McCalebb and Fenerbahce will play their first EuroLeague contest on Oct. 11 against Russia's BC Khimki.
Previous Wins By EuroLeague Clubs over NBA Squads
Maccabi Tel Aviv 98-87 Washington Bullets, Sept. 8, 1978
Maccabi Tel Aviv 104-97 New Jersey Nets, Aug. 28, 1984
Maccabi Tel Aviv 113-98 Phoenix Suns, Aug. 29, 1984
Maccabi Tel Aviv 105-103 Toronto Raptors, Oct. 16, 2005
FC Barcelona 104-99 Philadelphia 76ers, Oct. 5, 2006
CSKA Moscow 94-75 Los Angeles Clippers, Oct. 7, 2006
Baloncesto Malaga 102-99 Memphis Grizzlies, Oct. 9, 2007
Real Madrid 104-103 Toronto Raptors, Oct. 11, 2007
FC Barcelona 92-88 Los Angeles Lakers, Oct. 7, 2010
CSKA Moscow 90-87 Cleveland Cavaliers, Oct. 16, 2010
