In a nail-biting back and forth affair, FC Barcelona (8-2) won their second straight Turkish Airlines EuroLeague match, beating CSKA Moscow (6-4) on their home floor 81-73 (13-13, 25-14, 13-33, 30-13).
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
27
|
| Nikola Mirotic | |
| Points | 21 |
| Accuracy | 7-11 |
| Rebounds | 8 |
| Assists | 1 |
After an abysmal third quarter, Barca kicked the fourth period off with an astounding 19-4 run to regain a six-point lead (70-64).
Alexey Shved cut CSKA's deficit to six with less than two minutes remaining, but Brandon Davies and Rokas Jokubaitis closed the game out with six points to win it by eight for Barcelona.
Both teams struggled to score the ball in the first quarter, with CSKA missing all six of their 3-pointers and Barcelona missing their only attempt from range. The score was tied at 13 after one.
Barcelona got going in the second period, with seven straight points by Nikola Mirotic giving Barcelona a nine-point lead (33-24). Kyle Kuric added a 3-pointer, Brandon Davies nailed a last-second basket, and Barcelona enjoyed an 11-point lead at the half (38-27).
Barcelona pulled away by 14 after another three by Kuric, but Johannes Voigtmann answered with three straight long-range bombs to cut CSKA's deficit to five (36-41).
The visitors continued to dominate and took a six-point lead after two consecutive 3-pointer by Tornike Shengelia (51-45). A last-second three by Marius Grigonis gave CSKA their largest advantage going into the final period (60-51). They made eight 3-pointers in the quarter.
Nikola Mirotic was spectacular for Barcelona, ending with 21 points (6/8 2PT, 1/3 3PT, 6/6 FT), 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 turnovers, and 27 PIR.
"It was an amazing game," Mirotic said after the game. "I am very proud of my team, of the players, and the way we reacted after a not good beginning of the third quarter. But that was us, that was our spirit. We showed it today, that we are capable of the best and this is the way how we should play, especially in big games at home."
Johannes Voigtmann led CSKA with 21 points (1/1 2PT, 6/10 3PT, 1/2 FT), 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 23 PIR.
Nick Calathes twisted his ankle at the start of the fourth period and did not return. He finished the game with 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 rebounds, and 16 PIR.
"We lost the third quarter very badly." Calathes' back-up, Rokas Jokubaitis, said post-game. "We made a lot of stupid fouls and stuff like this. We managed to come back and are very happy. There is no time to celebrate because we have a game in 48 hours, so we have to rest as much as possible and look forward to the next game."
Barcelona: Nikola Mirotic 21 (8 REB), Brandon Davies 14, Kyle Kuric 13, Rokas Jokubaitis 11, Nick Calathes 10 (7 AST).
CSKA: Johannes Voigtmann 21 (6 REB, 6/10 3PT), Tornike Shengelia 17 (6 REB), Will Clyburn 9, Marius Grigonis 8, Alexey Shved 7.
Highlights
Support BasketNews so we could make even better content.
