With 15 victories and six defeats, Barça is the new leader of the Euroleague. It is because CSKA lost (with whom they tie for victories but advance by the average) but also because Jasikevicius’ team was able to add the fourth victory in a row in Europe, this time, against the Red Star in Belgrade. After a fought first part, with a fourth for each team, Calathes took control of the baton and enabled Higgins and Oriola to sentence the locals, unable throughout the match to overcome the Barça defense.
Barça started the game with a much higher rhythm and giving it, already in the first possession, the ball to Mirotic. But the 3-14 that ended the first five minutes was forged, to a large extent, with excellent defensive work. Estrella Roja used up possessions and they always shot forced, giving Barça an advantage that Calathes and Oriola took advantage of. The Catalan was the best Barça player in the first minutes, with several actions of merit.
With Loyd on the court, it was doubtful, Red Star tried to turn the game around, but Jasikevicius immediately answered with the entry of Hanga, who defended the American well. Colom improved the circulation for the premises, but the defense of the Barça continued, with the rotation players, at a good level. Davies reappeared already in the first quarter, which finished 11-21.
The scoring rhythm dropped in the second, but Barça always controlled an advantage of around ten points during the first minutes of it. And it was not thanks to any partial or to any outstanding individual performance, but Red Star cut the distance little by little to 21-26. Despite this, the return to the track of Higgins and Calathes activated Barça, misguided in the outside shot. Red Star, meanwhile, also had a lot of trouble scoring by two (2 of 9) but managed to lock the game, activate Loyd and be much more effective on the rebound. In other words, they brought the game to their ground. At the break, 31-34.
If Barça once again distanced themselves in the game, it was basically because Calathes took control of it. He enabled Higgins first and then Oriola on numerous occasions, assisting Kuric for two triples released (which he missed). Red Star tried to stop the match and avoid transitions, being still very competitive. Barça won with a certain margin, they reached eleven up (36-47), but they were never comfortable. Higgins, at the end of the quarter, increased the advantage in favor of the Catalans to 14 points, the maximum of the entire match.
And is that Barça, in the last minutes, could afford to relax a bit. He had success and a lucky point at the beginning of the quarter, which placed the score at 45-61 and practically ended the crash. In addition, the defense continued at a very high level: Red Star sweated each basket while the game was open. Barça made few mistakes and the locals no miracle, so the game fell on the Barça side (60-72).
Min | Pts | RT | RO | RD | Ast | Per | Rec | Tap | Threw | T1 | T2 | T3 | FR | FC | Val | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
99 | 2. 3 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 67% | 2/2 | 4/6 | 0/1 | 2 | 1 | 17 |
|
22 | twenty-one | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 53% | 2/2 | 6/10 | 0/3 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
|
twenty-one | twenty-one | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25% | 0/0 | 0/1 | 1/3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
|
18 | twenty | 12 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 73% | 4/5 | 4/6 | 0/0 | 3 | 2 | 17 |
|
33 | 17 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | fifty% | 4/6 | 1/2 | 0/2 | 6 | 2 | 13 |
|
8 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0/0 | 0/3 | 0/1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
|
24 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17% | 0/0 | 1/4 | 0/2 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
– |
2 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14% | 1/2 | 0/2 | 0/3 | 1 | 3 | -3 |
– |
10 | 16 | eleven | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 78% | 4/4 | 2/2 | 1/3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
|
0 | fifteen | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 88% | 5/6 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 3 | 2 | eleven |
|
2. 3 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 0/0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
14 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 0/0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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