ISTANBUL (Basketbol Şampiyonlar Ligi) - Besiktas Sompo Japan held off Nanterre 79-74 for their sixth straight win in a top of the table Group D clash on Wednesday evening.

Bestikas were up by many as 15 and never did relinquish the lead, but it was anything but easy. Nanterre rallied in the second half, getting it down to a single possession game late in the fourth quarter before ultimately falling.

Jon Diebler was the high-man for Besiktas, going 4-of-6 from three-point range for 16 points to lead Besiktas, whilst Kyle Weems had 14 points and 9 rebounds.

Sertac Sanli joined them in double figures as he scored all 12 of his points in the first half, whilst Ryan Boatright added 11.

Besiktas improved to 6-1 at the top of Group D, whilst Nanterre dropped to 5-2 in second place.

Jamal Shuler hit some big baskets down the stretch in Nanterre's run to finish with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, whilst Heiko Shaffartzik finished with 16 points and 6 assists.

Besiktas used the play of Sanli, who had 8 points in the early stages, to form an advantage and lead 21-12 after the opening period.

Early in the second period, Nanterre used a 6-0 run to pull back into the game before a Diebler three stemmed the Besiktas bleeding and calmed the ship to help allow Besiktas a 42-31 halftime lead.

Trailing 11 at halftime, an invigorated Nanterre side came out of the gates in the third period led by Heiko Schaffartzik to soon get the game back to single digits.

With Nanterre pulling it back to within five on multiple occasions, Besiktas were holding on to a slim 62-56 lead heading into the final period.

Lima caught a lob to open fourth quarter for the home side and it appeared they were back in the driving seat before the relentless Nanterre team once again fought back.

A steal and coast to coast drive from Lahaou Konate saw Nanterre draw to within 4 to set up a dramatic finish.

Soon after, Jamal Shuler knocked down a corner 3 that made it a 1 possession game for first time, 66-63, with a little over 5 minutes to play, before Alade Aminu finished a dunk to draw to make it a two point game with 4 minutes left.

DJ Strawberry hit a huge dagger three to put Besiktas up 76-66 with 1 minute left and though Nanterre responded with back to back threes of their own to bring it close once again, they were unable to get over the hump.