Galatasaray rides Pleiss, Preldzic to derby win vs. Darussafaka

Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul scored an impressive 81-85 victory over Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul on Friday at Abdi Ipekci Arena despite playing without two of its point guards. The EuroCup champion relied on outstanding performances from Tibor Pleiss and Emir Preldzic to improve to 2-6, while handing Darussafaka its first road loss and dropping Coach David Blatt’s side to 5-3. Pleiss erupted for 22 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks and Preldzic handled extended playmaking duties because Justin Dentmon and Russ Smith were out and responded with17 points, 6 assists and 4 steals. Vladimir Micov added 16 points and 6 assists for the winners. Will Clyburn paced the Darussafaka attack with 20 points, James Anderson tallied 15 points and 7 rebounds and Scottie Wilbekin added 14 points. Galatasaray dished 25 assists as a team, which was 11 more than the visitors and only committed 6 turnovers, while Darussafaka had 13.