Nikola Mirotic propels Barcelona to third place in the EuroLeague / News - Basketnews.com

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The regular-season leadersFC Barcelonabounced back in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Third Place Game at Stark Arena by taking downOlympiacos Piraeus,84-74(20-18, 25-20, 17-18, 22-18).

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Kostas Sloukas and Shaquielle McKissic revived Olympiacos once again after being down by 8 points (60-68).

The first one sank a triple, while the American detonated the fast-break jam and the Reds were trailing by only 3 points (65-68) with 4:30 to go. However, Nikola Mirotic and Cory Higgins managed to respond (75-66).

Even though Oly came within 5 (70-75), Sertac Sanli and Nikola Mirotic answered all the questions (79-70) with 1:15 to play.

Mirotic had 19 points (7/10 2PT, 1/1 3PT, 2/3 FT), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 27 PIR for the winners.

Sasha Vezenkov posted a double-double for Olympiacos, accumulating 20 points (6/9 2PT, 1/3 3PT, 5/7 FT), 11 rebounds, 1 steal, and 27 PIR.

It's expected to be Georgios Printezis' last EuroLeague match in his career. The 37-year-old Olympiacos legend finished the game scoreless over 8 minutes.

Powered by Sertac Sanli's triples and Nikola Mirotic's two-pointers, Barca arranged a 19-4 run, which lasted from the second tally to the start of the third quarter.

Sarunas Jasikevicius' men had plus 15 points (57-42) in the mid-third period. Though, Sasha Vezenkov ignited Olympiacos' comeback (10-2) and the teams were separated by 6 points (56-62) before the last 10 minutes of the match.

Moreover, Barca's Alex Abrines picked up an ankle injury and was forced to leave the court. However, Abrines returned on the floor at the start of the fourth quarter.

Barcelona: Nikola Mirotic 19, Sertac Sanli 16, Cory Higgins 11, Brandon Davies 10 (5 REB).

Olympiacos: Sasha Vezenkov 20 (11 REB), Kostas Sloukas 14 (7 AST), Shaquielle McKissic 11, Tyler Dorsey 10.

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