No more bullets left: the most underrated EuroLeague playoff series / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Christina Pahnke/EuroLeague Basketball via GettyImages Credit Christina Pahnke/EuroLeague Basketball via GettyImages

"We came to rescue Saras," one Lithuanian basketball fan smiled on the airplane that landed in Barcelona on game day.

Nicolas Laprovittola

Team:FC BarcelonaPosition:PGAge:32Height:188 cmWeight:88 kgBirth place:ArgentinaProfileNewsStatistics

The Lithuanian fans going to Barcelona to watch the home team and support Sarunas Jasikevicius men is a topic worth a separate article. But also, the fact that neither that fan nor the record crowd at Palau Blaugrana was supposed to come for this Game 5 is another topic worth a discussion.

Not when the 1st seed meets the 8th seed in the playoffs, which is missing two core players that combine for 31% of total team points on average in the regular season.

But Bayern Munich were there, returning to Barcelona for Game 5.

Before the unpredictable playoffs, fans and pundits could have expected 3 of 4 series going to game 5. But only die-hard fans could imagine that Bayern will challenge Barcelona in a do-or-die night.

They were returning to every game in the series where everybody had already ruled them out once or twice.

"They don't stand a chance."

"Okay, they won one, but that was their ceiling."

"Barcelona weren't focused; there's no way Bayern can beat Barcelona in Game 5."

Never underestimate a well-coached team with a great group of guys and the character they've built going through hardships nobody else faced in the EuroLeague.

This squad ended up having a lead with 20 minutes to play in Palau Blaugrana.

While Bayern had nothing to lose, Barcelona had everything to lose, with the club's president Joan Laporta watching the game in the stands with considerable anxiety. His football squad failed so much that Barcelona fans couldn't afford to have a basketball team collapsing on the highest stage.

Nicolas Laprovittola

MIN:20.47PTS:9.53 (54.48%)REB:1.86As:3.11ST:0.78BL:0TO:1.56GM:36ProfileEuroLeague2021/2022

Barca opened the game 9-4, setting a good tone for their on-court confidence and sparking up the crowd in Palau Blaugrana.

But then Othello Hunter, a 35-year-old veteran, who Andrea Trinchieri talked out of retirement before the season, showed up.

He punished Barca in pick-and-roll, outhustled hosts on boards, changed shots with his rim protection, and sparked a run 11-0 that took the lead for Bayern (15-9).

Barcelona slowly returned and were about to steal the momentum (24-23) but waisted too many opportunities missing wide-open shots, followed by easy transition points for Bayern. The visitors had 8 of those in the first half, keeping Bayern in front 29-27.

When Barca's defense forced Bayern to finish with Hunter's fade-away jumpers, Ognjen Jaramaz pulled out his 3-point gun, causing massive shoulder sprain injuries in Palau Blaugrana.

Because after his crazy shots, the only thing you could do was just grab your head in disbelief. Jaramaz went for the playoff-high 17 points, staying one triple away from his career-high.

That was him who built Bayern a 6-point lead before the halftime (37-31) and put Palau Blaugrana in uncomfortable silence before the second half.

The situation was so tense that even Davies' son took a ball in his hands and was ready to help his dad finish the job. Barca really needed some push.

When Barca jumped off for a third-quarter run, Jaramaz again, with another improbable three, kept guests in front 42-41.

Barcelona needed almost a perfect quarter to break through Bayern's resistance.

Barca were 8 of 12 from the field (4/6 3FG) behind Laprovittola‘s 13-point performance to build a solid lead before the last quarter (60-52). They won the quarter 29-15.

"There was also another team on the court tonight. And in the third quarter, that was a championship team," Trinchieri admitted.

"The third quarter cost us the game. We tried to attack the rim, but we never went to the line. And for the matter of fact, it was Laprovittola's night that really put together an unbelievable performance."

But when everybody thought it was finally done, Bayern came back again.

Mirotic hit a three and sent Bayern to the time-out with the highest lead that night with 8 minutes to play (63-52). But Hunter made a 2+1 play that led to Sarunas Jasikevicius' technical foul and reduced the gap 55-63.

Nick Calathes three, and his genius assist inspired Barca for another run (70-57). Was it over? Not yet.

Hunter sank two threes in a row, as if he was a shooting guard, to keep Bayern in a fight 65-72 with less than 4 minutes to play.

Whenever it looked like Bayern had no solutions in these series, they always brought something.

Andrea Trinchieri put Nick Weiler-Babb to orchestrate Bayern's offense when they were short of point guards. He finished the series averaging 10.0 points, 5.6 rebounds (2 ORB), 3.6 assists, and 14.6 PIR.

Deshaun Thomas came from 0 to a 25-point night, and Andreas Obst scored career-high 15 points in Game 2.

Bayern's defense sank Barcelona to tie their lowest-scoring EuroLeague performance ever (52 PTS) in Game 4.

They had Jaramaz and Hunter on their best games of the year to push Barcelona to the ropes in Game 5.

Vladimir Lucic is one of these rare players, that manages to be extremely important without scoring much. Just like in Game 5, where he had 21 PIR with 6 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals, he stayed consistent throughout the series (15.4 PIR).

But finally, it was over.

To close the series against Bayern, Barcelona needed a career night from Nicolas Laprovitola, who put up a 26-point performance on 5 of 7 3-point shooting. He scored 20 in the second half.

Also, they needed only the second-ever 20-point EuroLeague playoff game from Nikola Mirotic.

In other words, Barca needed a championship effort.

"They're very physical, patient, and they always play with the same intensity. You always have to beat them because they won't beat themselves," Jasikevicius added, praising Bayern's fighting mentality in the series.

"I've never been more proud of my players," Trinchieri started his press conference. "We can talk for hours. But tonight, we put together three unbelievable quarters going over our limit as hard as possible."

"I don't feel depressed. I don't feel bad about the situation. I've never been more proud of my players and my team," the coach added.

"I felt we were in the series. I felt we came here to play to win. I'm very proud of my players. This is the only thing I want to keep for this game," Trinchieri said. "I have a feeling that my team showed great character and tried to fight any kind of adversity. You can improve a little bit by X and Os, but considering culture and values, I'm very proud of my players."

"I asked my team not to have any bullet left after this game," Trinchieri said. "I believe we gave everything. Only one complicated third-quarter didn't give us a chance to have a tie game. So that's it."

"I want to congratulate Barca because they played a great third quarter as a championship team plays. They go to the Final Four, and I wish them all the best," Trinchieri concluded with pride.

That was the most underrated playoff series with no losers in the end.

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