By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
On a crucial game for both sides, the pride of Barcelona and the allure of the home-court advantage in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague postseason proved stronger.
Bayern Munich is fighting for the play-ins, but Barcelona was, as expected, the better team on the way to an 87-79 road triumph.
That was the 21st win of the season for the guests who can still hope even for the second spot on the final regular season standings, while Bayern with a 13-19 record has slim chances of making it to the postseason.
It was a team effort from Barcelona which got 15 points by Jabari Parker. Nicolas Laprovittola added 14 points, Jan Vesely had 12, while Ricky Rubio added six points, all from the free throws line, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
“The important thing is we won on the road, against a very talented team, I am proud of the guys”, said Parker after the final buzzer.
Nick Weiler-Babb scored 17 points and Serge Ibaka with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks tried his best for the hosts.
Bayern was playing without big man Devin Booker and sharpshooter Andreas Obst, and they were missed.
Barcelona dominated in the second period
Barcelona got a solid 25-19 start after 10 minutes of action, however, that was just a sign of things to come.
The guests led even by 43-21 after an 18-2 run and at halftime, they led by 17 (47-30) having a solid advantage, while Bayern was shooting with 33% (10/30) efficiency from the floor.
With Serge Ibaka picking up the slack and scoring 13 points, Bayern trimmed the lead to 12 (48-36) but Barcelona answered back with a quick 10-2 run (58-38) with Jabari Parker scoring 11 points up to this point.
Barcelona led by 18 (71-53) entering the last period after a three by Laprovittola and rounded up their advantage to 20 (73-53) after a shot by Jan Vesely.
Bayern didn’t give up, they made it an eight-point game (80-72) with less than four minutes left after a three by Sylvain Fransisco and two minutes later (83-75), again after a three by Isaac Bonga.
The home side cut the lead even to six (83-77) after two free throws by Vladimir Lucic, one minute before the final buzzer.
“We played better in the second half, we missed some opportunities to get closer and we were playing against a great team”, admitted Bayern coach Pablo Laso.
Laprovittola answered back with a layup over Ibaka, he stole the ball in the next possession and the game was over.
“They pushed us a lot in the fourth quarter, but we were in control, we passed the ball well and we found many open shots”, added Barcelona coach Roger Grimau.
“The next game against Maccabi is going to be a final for us”, added big man Willy Hernangomez who added nine points for the winning side.
Photo credit: EuroLeague