Although Rudy Gobert may not be regarded as one of the NBA's clutch performers, his basket late in the game gave France a chance to win their opening match of the knockout phase of EuroBasket 2022.
In the third quarter, France was ahead of Turkey 49-38 before Turkey went on a 19-0 run to take control of the match. It required some late heroics from Rudy Gobert for France to hold on even though they had led for the game's duration. Gobert knotted the score with a putback slam with 2.5 seconds left in regulation after Evan Fournier missed a jumper.
Thanks to a last-second 3-pointer by Fournier that gave France an 86-83 lead, France managed to hold on to win the game 87-86 in overtime. With 0.1 seconds left, Terry Tarpey's steal earned them the victory.
With 12 seconds left in the regulation, Turkey led by two points with Cedi Osman standing at the foul line. He failed in both efforts, but Turkey got an offensive rebound. Fournier robbed Bulgarian Tuncer of the ball, resulting in Gobert's putback and Fournier's failed floater.
Gobert led France with 20 points and 17 rebounds, his most nuanced performance in EuroBasket this season and the pivotal play late. France defeated Turkey 50-22 in the paint, thanks to Gobert's dominance in the low post.
Gobert claimed, "We just never stopped fighting. "We've always had faith. It wasn't our best performance. However, the thing about which I am most proud is that we never gave up. Many teams would have given up in that circumstance. They most likely wouldn't have attempted the play or ball theft. We didn't, and we were rewarded for continuing to fight.
With a game-high 22 points, six 3-pointers, four assists, and three rebounds, Tuncer led Turkey.
Osman struggled for Turkey, scoring just 11 points on 3-for-10 shooting to finish. Alperen Sengun, Turkey's other NBA player, finished with just eight points and five rebounds in 22 minutes. This year's EuroBasket was his first tournament game in which he failed to reach double figures.
Turkey has recently suffered several disheartening defeats, including this one. Tuncer recounted losing to the Americans in 2019 despite having a two-point lead late in the game but missed two free throws in his postgame interview.
France advances to the EuroBasket 2022 quarterfinals thanks to the win. They will watch for the outcome of Serbia vs. Italy game, starting at noon ET on September 11.
Nikola Jokic, a two-time NBA MVP, is Serbia's star player and the team's top seed in the competition. In EuroBasket, he averages 19.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.
Simone Fontecchio, who joined the Jazz earlier this summer, is the leader of Italy. His scoring, rebounding, and assist totals are all 19.2, respectively.
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