ISTANBUL — Anadolu Efes defeated Besiktas 89-80 in the first Istanbul derby of the 2026-27 EuroLeague season on Thursday, 22 October at the Turkcell Basketball Development Center, holding off a fierce third-quarter rally behind a career-high 22 points from Cam Payne.
Payne scored 14 of his points in the fourth quarter, including three three-pointers in a two-and-a-half-minute spell, as Pablo Laso's side restored control after seeing a 21-point halftime lead eroded. Collin Malcolm added 15 points, Dario Saric scored 14 and Santi Yusta contributed a career-high 13 for Efes.
Efes established their advantage by attacking the basket and drawing fouls early, with Devon Dotson and Conor Morgan each collecting two fouls inside the opening five minutes as all five Efes starters scored to move ahead 18-9. The hosts outscored Besiktas 29-17 in the opening quarter and 28-19 in the second to take a commanding 57-36 lead into the interval.
Dusan Alimpijevic's Besiktas responded after the break, scoring the first 10 points of the third quarter to cut the deficit to 65-58 and winning the period 24-11 to bring the contest back within reach before Payne's late shooting burst swung momentum again. Eugene Omoruyi led Besiktas with 16 points and Jaylen Nowell added 14, but the visitors shot 7-for-26 from three-point range compared with Efes' 8-for-20 and committed 12 turnovers to Efes' 18.
The result leaves both Istanbul clubs on 3-4 records after seven EuroLeague matches, with Efes 12th in the table, one place above 13th-placed Besiktas. Efes will visit Hapoel Tel Aviv on Wednesday, 28 October, while Besiktas host Olympiacos on the same day.