Jan Vesely became the EuroLeague leader in 2-pointers made, with 1,293 shots made.
FC Barcelona had to battle hard to beat Zalgiris Kaunas 89-81 on Friday night in Game 2 of their best-of-five playoff series. Jan Vesely led Barca to a big win, breaking a EuroLeague all-time record in the process.
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
33
|
| Jan Vesely | |
| Points | 26 |
| Accuracy | 10-14 |
| Rebounds | 6 |
| Assists | 2 |
With his 10 two-pointers made against Zalgiris, Vesely climbed to first place in that statistical category.
He now leads the all-time standings with 1,293 two-point shots made, sending Kyle Hines to the second spot (1,289). No other active player has reached the 1,000-point mark based solely on two-pointers scored.
EuroLeague 2-pointers made all-time leaders
| Player | Games | 2-pointers made |
| Jan Vesely | 311 | 1293 |
| Kyle Hines | 391 | 1289 |
| Georgios Printezis | 375 | 1194 |
| Ante Tomic | 283 | 1137 |
| Paulius Jankunas | 392 | 1011 |
Vesely played 12 minutes in the first half of Game 2, scoring 18 points on 6-of-7 two-point shots. He had a couple of dunks, helping Barca overcome a slow start to get a 1-point lead, 45-44, at halftime.
After a quiet third quarter, Vesely found his rhythm again, scoring 3 more times inside the arc. His final basket gave Barca an 87-81 margin in the penultimate minute of the game, allowing fans at Palau Blaugrana to start celebrating an important win.
Vesely finished the night with 26 points, a new personal high in the playoffs. His previous postseason scoring record was the 23 points he netted for Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in an 80-72 win against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in Game 1 of the 2015 playoffs.
On Friday, Vesely hit 10-of-13 two-pointers and 6-of-6 free throws, adding 6 rebounds, a block, and 6 fouls drawn for a PIR of 33. His previous best mark for PIR in a playoff game was 25 in that 2015 game against Maccabi.
Vesely tied a club record for the highest PIR in a playoff game, with Brandon Davies having also achieved a PIR of 33 in Game 2 of the 2021 playoffs against Zenit St Petersburg. That day, Barca beat Zenit 81-78 in overtime.
"We knew that we would be much more aggressive than [in Game 1] on Wednesday. We tried to match it, and I think we did a pretty good job, but not enough during the game. But, in the end, we broke them," Vesely said after the game. "We stayed mentally in the game, and that was the key. We suffered a lot; they were very aggressive like I said."
Nicolas Laprovittola also set a club record for most assists in a playoff fixture, dishing 11 in Game 2. Tomas Satoransky and Marcelinho Huertas each dished 10 assists in a playoff game in 2016 and 2012, respectively.
It was a near-perfect night for Barca fans at Palau Blaugrana – a hard-fought game, some records tied and broken, and their team is just one win away from returning to the Final Four!
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