A huge win in Barcelona!
Olympiacos rallied Barcelona 77-75 on the road and made the break in their Euroleague quarter-finals series.
In the beginning of the game, Moustapha Fall dominated the post and had a major contribution to our team building a +7 lead (4-11). With Jabari Parker spearheading their offense and mainly scoring from the free-throw line, Barcelona made a one-point game (18-19) at 10', while thanks to its good perimeter percentages, they managed to get ahead 28-25. Olympiacos however showed an immediate reaction. They pressed in the backcourt, 'struck' from the 3-point line with Isaiah Canaan, and with Filip Petrusev making the difference under the rim, they regained control of the game, getting ahead with 10p. (34-44). The 35-44 score that marked the end of the first half came after Willy Hernangomez made one of his two free throws.
With a solid defensive game and Nigel Williams-Goss offering a scoring recital, the 'red & whites' not only maintained control, but got to increase the distance to +13 (47-60) for the first time by 29'. However, at that point, our team inexcusably slowed down, turned the ball over, made bad decisions when attempting to attack and allowed the Blaugrana to run a partial 11-1 and close into 3p. (58-61) at 33'. With Shaquielle McKissic and Isaiah Canaan taking center stage, the 'red & whites' replied with a partial score of 8-1 and once again made a double-digit game (59-69) by 35'. Taking advantage of their long-range good percentages, the hosts closed into 2p. (67-69). A big 3-pointer by Canaan and a dunk by Milurinov allowed Olympiacos to take a deep breath and go to +8 (67-75) at 37'.
With 1:09 on the clock, our team had a lead of 5p. (70-75) to manage, but Rubio stole the ball from Walkup, who then committed a foul and also received a technical. Barcelona closed into 72-75. 35.9'' before the final buzzer, Filip Petrusev won a foul but got injured in the knee and left the game (the Serbian player will undergo testing to assess the extent of his injury). Larentzakis replaced him and although not having established rhythm coming from the bench, he made both free throws (72-77). Hernagomez had one for two after that (73-77, 29'' before the end), an off-the-target 3-point attempt by Larentzakis ensued (7'' to the buzzer) and Parker wrote the final 75-77 when everything had been decided.
The quarters: 18-19, 35-44, 54-61, 75-77.
BARCELONA
OLYMPIACOS
