By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
It took Nikola Mirotic 18:20 to match his career-best performance in PIR with 37 against Baskonia. And it took Barcelona about 20 minutes to establish its dominance and finally grab a 93-67 victory at home for Round 9 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Mirotic had a nearly perfect game – hadn’t it been for one missed throw – and led Barcelona to this stunning victory with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists.
“I am always trying to do my best. I am always saying thanks to my teammates, thanks to my coaching staff. It is not always about me, it is about the team. The team is playing good and they are playing some offenses for me and I really felt good today, especially physically”, said Mirotic post-game.
Barcelona managed to lead with as much as 55-31 after the end of the first half, while the deficit rose to 40 points by the end of the third quarter (81-41). Although Baskonia rallied back in the fourth quarter, there was no turning back to the game and the hosts improved to a 7-2 record in the standings after suffering back-to-back defeats against Maccabi and Olimpia Milan.
Nicolas Laprovittola and Brandon Davies added up 11 points each for Sarunas Jasikevicius’ squad, while Nick Calathes posted 9 points and 7 assists.
Despite Baskonia’s disheartening game, Steven Enoch managed to be a bright exception with a new EuroLeague career-high performance of 22 points, 8 rebounds and he reached a PIR of 35.
Adding up to Enoch, Rokas Giedraitis posted 14 points for Baskonia, which now slipped its fourth game in a row to fall to a 3-6 record.
Coach Dusko Ivanovic sent a message to his team after the game, hoping for better days. “Barcelona played as always. Barcelona is not the problem, it’s us. I never give up. I don’t give up but I believe my team gave up. For instance, we didn’t fight tonight. Every game is different, it is a new game. We have to forget about it and come out with different energy and a different mentality, thinking that we can play against anyone. That is my message.”
Photo: EuroLeague