By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
Barcelona Lassa had an upper hand but Real Madrid didn’t give up and with Jaycee Carroll’s game-winner grabbed an 81-80 home win in Game 2 of the Spanish League Finals which they now lead 2-0.
Barca had an 80-77 lead with 9.4 seconds remaining but Real Madrid‘s Sergio Llull was at the free throw line ready to take his two shots.
He made the first, missed the second but Rudy Fernandez ended up with an offensive rebound and after a few passes, the ball found its way to Carroll who made a pump fake and then drained the game-winning triple.
Carroll nailed 25 points (5-7 triples) in addition to Sergio Llull’s 13 and Walter Tavares’ 11 points. The latter also added nine rebounds.
Thomas Heurtel had a great night for Barcelona with game-high 30 points on 11-18 shooting while Pierre Oriola and Victor Claver added 12 points each.
Barca had an early 17-7 lead and went on the halftime rest with a 34-29 advantage. They improved the gap to a 12-point margin (51-39) after the break but Real recovered quickly.
The hosts tied the game at 62 early in the fourth quarter and although Barcelona pulled away once again, Real managed to turn everything around in the final minute and steal the win thanks to Carroll.
Game 3 of the best-of-five series will be played on June 19 as the home court advantage switches to Barcelona’s side.