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Fenerbahce Beko strengthened its grip on first place in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague on Tuesday, defeating Barcelona 82-78 on the road at Palau Blaugrana to improve its record to 18 wins in 26 games.
The Istanbul-based club maintained its position atop the 20-team standings despite having one game in hand, building on a strong run of form that has seen them win 15 of their last 17 matches. The victory came three days after Fenerbahce seized the league lead for the first time since the opening week of the season.
Barcelona fell to its 10th defeat of the campaign with the loss.
Tarik Biberovic led Fenerbahce with 19 points, while Wade Baldwin IV contributed 16 points in the winning effort. The Turkish side also received 8 points each from Talen Horton-Tucker and Khem Birch, with Horton-Tucker fouling out with 1 minute and 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Kevin Punter paced Barcelona with 24 points, but the Spanish club could not overcome an early deficit that saw them trail 29-14 after the first quarter.
Fenerbahce led 53-41 at halftime and extended the advantage to 73-56 after three quarters before Barcelona mounted a late rally.
The visitors dominated the opening period, outscoring Barcelona 29-14 to establish control of the match. Fenerbahce maintained double-digit leads for most of the game, though Barcelona cut the deficit to four points in the final minute before running out of time.
Jan Vesely added 10 points for Barcelona, while Dario Brizuela scored 11 in the losing effort. The game was officiated by Robert Lottermoser of Germany, Luka Kardum of Croatia, and Uros Obrknezevic of Serbia.
With the victory, Fenerbahce continues a remarkable turnaround under coach Sarunas Jasikevicius. The club has won 15 of its last 17 games after previously standing at just 3 wins from 9 games in the early season.
The yellow-and-navy side's next challenge comes Thursday when they visit Paris Basketball, completing a demanding double-game week on the road. Barcelona will look to rebound from back-to-back defeats as it seeks to maintain playoff position in the competitive European standings.
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