Barca tie their all-time scoring low, while Bayern book Game 5 in Spain / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: BasketNews/Begum Unal Credit BasketNews/Begum Unal

FC Bayern Munich found ways to disrupt FC Barcelona's offensive rhythm and survived the do-or-die game by downing the Catalans 59-52 (18-12, 18-13, 14-9, 9-18) at Audi Dome.

Player of the Game EFF 24 Nick Weiler-Babb Points 12 Accuracy 3-7 Rebounds 8 Assists 4

Andrea Trinchieri's squad forced Game 5, which will take place in Spain next Tuesday.

Moreover, Bayern limited visitors to their lowest scoring numbers in the EuroLeague. Prior to this game, Barcelona scored 52 points in the 2016-17 campaign as well (vs Olympiacos).

Powered by balanced team efforts and a 4-0 mini spurt, Bayern created a double-digit lead at the start of the second quarter (22-12).

They maintained their advantage until the first half ended, while Ognjen Jaramaz knocked down a triple and gave an 11-point cushion (36-25). 10 different players scored for the Germans in the first half.

Bayern continued their amazing defensive performance in the second half. They kept Barca scoreless for 5:30 at the start of the third quarter. While doing so, Vladimir Lucic, Othello Hunter, Nick Weiler-Babb contributed with the baskets and the Germans were up by 16 (44-28). The same 16 points differed both clubs (50-34) before the last tally.

Even though Barca came within 10 points (49-59) with 2:00 to go in the fourth, after a 9-1 run, it was too late to think about the W. Bayern got a couple of stops and defended their positions.

Nick Weiler-Babb led the route for Bayern, accumulating 12 points (1/3 2PT, 2/4 3PT, 4/4 FT), 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 24 PIR.

"Of course, I'm very proud, very happy for my players. We played unbelievable defense, we won without scoring open shots, and that is a credit to my players for how they played 40 minutes of really great defense," Andrea Trinchieri said post-game.

Alex Abrines had 12 points (2/2 2PT, 2/6 3PT, 2/2 FT), 3 rebounds, and 12 PIR for the losing side.

"I feel so bad that we changed our face in 48 hours. For everything we did right 48 hours ago, today we did a lot of things wrong. On top of that, it was one of those nights where everything around the basket or the three-point line, we could not put the ball in the basket, with incredibly bad luck. So we need to regroup," Sarunas Jasikevicius spoke.

Bayern: Nick Weiler-Babb 12 (8 REB, 4 AST), Othello Hunter 9 (5 REB), Vladimir Lucic 8 (4 REB).

Barcelona: Alex Abrines 12, Rokas Jokubaitis 8, Nikola Mirotic 7 (5 REB).

Highlights

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