By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Mirotic provided firepower to FC Barcelona with 18 points and four three-pointers and Sarunas Jasikevicius’ squad prevailed over ALBA Berlin 95-79 on the road in Round 31 to complete the regular-season sweep.
Rolands Smits scored a season-best with 12 points along with 6 rebounds and Nicolas Laprovittola added 10 for Barca, while Nick Calathes picked up 9 points and 8 assists.
Barcelona got a headstart into the game, leading the first half 47-39, and extended its lead to double figures in the third quarter to secure their second victory in a row and improve to a 20-5 record and take the reigns of the standings.
“I think we were very solid in the beginning of the third quarter when we broke the lead”, commented Jasikevicius after the game. “It always helps that we found some players that were hot. Against ALBA it’s always a game of runs. I think that in the second half we came back much better from the runs of ALBA, we found some solutions where we wanted to attack, and I think we were much more solid in the second half.”
Oscar Da Silva paced the German side with 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jaleen Smith scored 13 and Tamir Blatt added 11 points. ALBA has now lost its second game in a row to drop to 9-14.
Next on
Barcelona faces Fenerbahce Friday at home for Round 32 (21:00 CET), ALBA hosts Crvena Zvezda Friday (20:00 CET).
Photo credit: EuroLeague