Exum delivers dunk of the season as Barcelona fly past Bayern in Game 1 / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Rodolfo Molina/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Rodolfo Molina/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

The regular season standings leader FC Barcelona hosted the eighth-placed challenger FC Bayern Munich in a meeting of two of the world's biggest sporting superpowers at Palau Blaugrana.

Barca kicked off the EuroLeague playoffs on a high note, beating the visiting Germans 77-67 (20-22, 23-11, 19-18, 15-16).

Inspired by Vladimir Lucic's buckets and 11-2 run, Bayern came back within 5 points (64-69) in the mid-fourth quarter.

However, Rokas Jokubaitis, Nikola Mirotic, and Dante Exum scored 6 points in a row to finally break the game into Barca's side (75-64) with 3 minutes to go. Bayern could not arrange another come back and Barca got away with a double-digit win.

Dante Exum exploded for 12 points (4/5 2PT, 1/1 3PT, 1/1 FT), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 18 PIR, and a vicious poster on Othello Hunter.

Dominant Brandon Davies had 19 points (6/9 2PT, 7/10 FT), 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover, and 24 PIR.

"Four more [games] like this. I think it is always better to play at home. I think it is a very clear message for the whole series. We have to play our best basketball to beat this team and if we have the lapses of concentration like we did in the third quarter, they are immediately back in the game. This is the characteristic of this Bayern team for the last year and a half," Sarunas Jasikevicius spoke post-game.

Vladimir Lucic was a bright spot for the losing side, accumulating a game-high 20 points (3/4 2PT, 4/7 3PT, 2/3 FT), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, and 19 PIR.

"Congrats to Barca. I believe that, at the end of the day, they deserved the win. We fought - we had a very good first quarter, then the two middle quarters, so-so. We made some mistakes that, at this level, are not possible because if you make those mistakes, you don't survive. But to tell you the truth, I am very proud of my team," commented Andrea Trinchieri.

Barca was down 13-22 in the first quarter but went on a 19-3 run to go up by 7 points (32-25). Brandon Davies (12 PTS, 3 RBS) and Nicolas Laprovittola (11 PTS, 3 AST) fueled Catalans in the first half, as the hosts were leading the way in double digits (43-33), going into the break.

After a 10-0 push, Vladimir Lucic and Ognjen Jaramaz returned Bayern to the game (43-45) at the start of the third quarter. However, Sarunas Jasikevicius reacted quickly, taking a time-out and stabilizing Catalans' positions. Brandon Davies pushed his team forward and Barca had a double-digit advantage (62-51) before the last 10 minutes of the game.

Barcelona: Brandon Davies 19 (5 REB), Dante Exum 12 (4 REB, 4 AST), Nikola Mirotic 12, Nicolas Laprovittola 11, Rokas Jokubaitis 7 (5 AST).

Bayern: Vladimir Lucic 20, Darrun Hilliard 12, Augustine Rubit 8 (6 REB), Othello Hunter 7 (4 REB), Nick Weiler-Babb 7 (6 REB).

Highlights

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