Nikola Mirotic keeps Barca on leading track as Catalans cruise past ALBA / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: imago images - Scanpix Credit imago images - Scanpix

ALBA Berlin (9-14) aimed to boost their hopes of post-season action by securing a fifth straight home win but the German powerhouse came short against FC Barcelona (20-5) 79-95 (13-21, 26-26, 19-26, 21-22).

Player of the Game EFF 22 Nikola Mirotic Points 18 Accuracy 6-12 Rebounds 6 Assists 1

It was the 150th game for Sarunas Jasikevicius at the helm of Barcelona. He has been guiding Catalans since the autumn of 2020.

During this time, the Lithuanian mastermind reached 118 victories with his squad. This means that Saras won almost 79% of all matches played.

ALBA-Barcelona duel reminded the roller coaster ride in the first half with Barca leading the way by 12 (25-13) and then letting ALBA blow the margin between the teams to 2 points (26-28).

Though, Nick Calathes put a cherry on top, hitting the buzzer-beating triple before the 15-minute break and giving Barcelona the 8-point advantage (47-39).

The trio of Rolands Smits, Dante Exum, and Nicolas Laprovittola boosted Barca with an 8-0 run at the start of the third quarter. After this spurt, Sarunas Jasikevcius' squad built a solid 16-point lead (55-39).

Later on, Nick Calathes and Nikola Mirotic scored 5 straight points and Catalans were up by 20 (65-45).

Despite ALBA arranging a 14-2 push (65-75), Kyle Kuric and Nigel Hayes-Davis stabilized Barca's position in the fourth (83-68) with 5:30 to go. The visitors fended off the last effort by the Germans and celebrated the comfortable W.

Nikola Mirotic had a regular day at the office for Barca, posting 18 points (2/4 2PT, 4/8 3PT, 2/2 FT), 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover, and 22 2PIR.

"I think our players understood how well ALBA is playing, especially at home. We came out with the right mentality. We made too much of the ALBA's game in the first half, which is really up and down. We wanted to run, play fast, but I think against ALBA you cannot do that," Sarunas Jasikevicius told post-game.

Oscar Da Silva was the leader for ALBA. He accumulated 13 points (5/9 2PT, 0/1 3PT, 3/6 FT), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 16 PIR.

"I want to congratulate Barcelona. They played a very good game, with high percentages, we did some unusual mistakes in the first half that I think penalized our morale a lot. To have a chance to win in this kind of game, we need to play almost perfectly, with no mistakes as we made," Israel Gonzalez spoke.

Barcelona: Nikola Mirotic 18 (6 REB), Kyle Kuric 14, Rolands Smits 12 (6 REB), Nicolas Laprovittola 10.

ALBA: Oscar Da Silva 13 (5 REB), Jaleen Smith 12, Tamir Blatt 11.

Highlights

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