By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Although Barcelona made a big comeback, KIROLBET Baskonia managed to hold on for a 76-74 home win. Baskonia improved to 7-10 catching up to the playoff race while Barca now holds a 13-4 record.
Pierria Henry led the way with 20 points on 5-8 from deep while Shavon Shields added 14 and Tornike Shengelia 13 points. Shengelia also nailed an electrifying game-winning dunk past Nikola Mirotic.
Mirotic scored 17 points for Barca while Malcolm Delaney and Kyle Kuric added 13 each in addition to Brandon Davies’ 12 points.
“I made a turnover and almost had a heart attack”
Shengelia noted after the game how important this win was for Baskonia and expressed his relief once it was over: “It is a very important win. We needed it like water. I am proud of my teammates. We came up strong and tried to maintain the consistency in the second half because we knew they were going to come back, they are Barcelona, one of the best teams right now in the EuroLeague. Thanks to our crowd, they were amazing today. They were exceptional today and thank God, we got this win done. I tried to make a play and thankfully, I made that dunk, but the game was not over there. I made a turnover and almost had a heart attack but thank God, we won this game.”
Henry sounded ‘gassed out’ after the game but he found the strength to praise his teammates: “I just have to salute my teammates for never giving up. It says a lot about our team and how strong our locker room is when we stick together. When we have fan support and a crowd like that, bringing a lot of energy, an electrifying atmosphere, all you can do is leave it all out there and do your best. I cannot say enough. I am extremely excited and happy to be a part of this team and how my teammates fought. At the end of the day, we have a lot to learn, but we can learn from this game and move on to the next day. We cannot be satisfied with this one game. We just want to keep improving and I think Coach has done a great job keeping our heads focused, keeping us locked in and paying attention to the bigger picture. We are ready!”
Baskonia came out strong from the very start as they led 21-15 after the first quarter and increased the lead to 47-31 by halftime. They were on fire shooting 8-11 for two and 9-18 for three as Barcelona couldn’t stop their offense led by Henry and Shields.
The hosts opened the second half with five straight points (52-31) and it seemed that Baskonia will have no trouble tonight but Mirotic and Barcelona disagreed. They were slowly ‘melting away’ Baskonia’s lead cutting it to 11 points (65-54) at the end of the third quarter and even tied the game at 74 during the last minute. However, the hosts stayed calm and managed to come out on top thanks to Shengelia’s dunk and strong defense.
Photo Credit: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague