Game of the year: Holston triple stuns Galatasaray crowd

ISTANBUL (Turkey) - It had all the ingredients for an instant classic: loud crowd, clutch shots, a lot on the line, and a hero in David Holston. JDA Dijon picked up a 75-72 road win in Istanbul, handing Galatasaray Nef a losing start to the Round of 16.

Dijon rise to 2-1, dramatically increasing their chances of reaching the Quarter-Finals, since they have two home games and only one road duel until the end of the Round of 16.

Galatasaray Nef have a busy schedule when we come back from the February break, a losing start is not something they expected in this phase.

Turning point: It was a one point game in the final minute, and after Galatasaray missed their chance to take the lead, Chase Simon was sent to the line. He only made the first shot, which turned into great news for Dijon - Simon grabbed his own rebound and handed the ball to David Holston.

In a scenario seen so many times before, Holston decided it was time for him to hit the biggest shot of the game, knocking down a pull up three-pointer to make it 74-69 with 22 seconds remaining.

Melo Trimble made a three-pointer to keep Galata alive, and it seemed we could see more heroics from him once Simon missed another two free throws at 74-72.

But Trimble's off balance lefty layup did not drop, nor did David Kravish tip in with just over a second left on the game clock, allowing the French side to escape Turkey with a huge win.

Game hero: We're running out of things to say about David Holston. The 36-year-old point god had 18 points and 10 assists, getting his first double-double of the season after a couple of 9-assist games and two more with 8 assists.

Holston had a couple of off games to end the Play-In series and start the Round of 16, but 15 points, 9 assists against Holon, and 18 points, 10 assists against Galatasaray put him back in the MVP talks.

 

Stats don't lie: With Abdoulaye Loum and Jacques Alingue stepping up in Gavin Ware's absence, Dijon's outside defense was about taking more risks and sending Galatasaray's offense inside to those two man mountains under the rim.

The plan was working, as soon as the big guys got the stops and the rebounds, the backcourt was sprinting the other way, giving JDA Dijon a 19-4 edge in fast break points. Easy points in such a close game are crucial.

Bottom line: Coach Nenad Markovic will feel good about Dijon's chances of making the Quarter-Finals again, especially when Holston is playing like this.

Ekrem Memnun will use the February break to regroup, and get ready for a hectic schedule that will see Galatasaray play five games in three weeks. David Kravish had a monster game with 15 points and 18 rebounds, he could form a deadly frontcourt duo with Maurice Ndour once the Senegalese forward makes his debut.

They said:

"It was a very tough game. We started it very well, but somehow we allowed Galatasaray to come back quickly into the game and even lead at the halftime. We made many defensive errors in the second quarter, and also had four turnovers. When we were seven points down we picked up our game from there, we really were more focused and our defense was much better, and then in certain moments we made some big shots, important shots, which kept us in the game." - JDA Dijon head coach Nenad Markovic

"It was a big win for us, our defense in the fourth quarter is what really made us keep the edge on it. We got a couple of stops in a row, and that was the biggest part of the game. I'm 100 percent proud of our guys, we came here focused, coach had us ready, we had a good game plan and I'm just so proud especially in an away game like this. We haven't been playing too well on the road. To get a big win like this is a huge step for us trying to get to the next round. This atmosphere is great, one of the top fans in Europe. It was great to be here and witness the atmosphere, I'm just glad we were able to get a win out of it." - David Holston, JDA Dijon

"Give credit to Dijon. They played really well, they did what they do, they did it well. We made a lot of mistakes, myself included on defense, and they made us pay." - David Kravish, Galatasaray Nef

"We're very sorry that we lost a game at home. We knew that it was going to be a very tough game, Dijon is a tough team, especially on the defensive end, and on offense they have their style of play and they managed to execute it most parts of the game. We had some good moments, but we made so many easy mistakes, turnovers, sloppy passes on offense and physically we couldn't match their hustle. It hurts, but lessons to take." - Galatasaray Nef head coach Ekrem Memnun