2014-15Top 16Round 7
FC Barcelona 82
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul 70
February 12, 2015 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 PALAU BLAUGRANA

Satoransky leads Barcelona past Galatasaray

FC Barcelona improved to 4-3 in the Top 16 by downing Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul 82-70 at home on Thursday. Barcelona remained unbeaten in Group E at Palau Blaugrana, while Galatasaray dropped to 2-5. Tomas Satoransky paced the winners with 17 points. Bostjan Nachbar added 15, Justin Doellman and Ante Tomic each had 12 points and 9 rebounds, while Juan Carlos Navarro scored 11 for Barcelona. Zoran Erceg led Galatasaray with 18 points and Patric Young added 11 points and 14 rebounds for the guests. Satoransky took over early to help Barcelona to a 15-11 lead. Erceg and Ender Arslan brought Galatasaray within 22-20 after 10 minutes. Three-pointers by Martynas Pocius and Arslan gave Galatasaray a 25-26 edge. Doellman and Nachbar combined for all the points in a 7-0 run that gave Barcelona the lead for good, 32-26. Nachbar and an outstanding Navarro boosted Barcelona's lead to double-digits, 52-39, at halftime. Young tried to change things after the break while Kerem Gonlum and Erceg fueled a 0-9 run that brought Galatasaray within 66-62 with eight minutes left. Galatasaray managed to get within 71-68, but Barcelona improved its defense and used an 11-0 run to seal the outcome minutes before the final buzzer.

First quarter: Satoransky steals the show

Doellman got Barcelona going with a three-pointer which Tomic followed with a dunk for a 5-0 lead. Galatasaray was held scoreless for almost two minutes until Vladimir Micov stepped up with a layup-plus-foul. A driving basket by Erceg soon tied it at 5-5. After Navarro struck from downtown, Young scored down low. A layup by Tomic gave the hosts a 10-7 lead. Erceg kept pushing Galatasaray with his trademark triple from the top of the key, but Satoransky quickly answered with a high-flying reverse layup and soon added a triple for a 15-11 Barcelona lead. Satoransky ignited the crowd with a wild alley-oop slam, but back-to-back baskets by Erceg and Sinan Guler kept the guests within 17-15. Satoransky scored off a midcourt steal and Nachbar bettered Gonlum's layup with a three-point play. Arslan answered with his own layup-plus-foul to bring Galatasaray within 22-20.

Second quarter: Navarro shines, Barcelona gets big lead

A three-pointer by Martynas Pocius gave Galatasaray its first lead, 22-23, early in the quarter. Nachbar answered from downtown, but Arslan also hit one from beyond the arc. Tomic tried to change things with consecutive put-back baskets and a three-pointer by Nachbar gave Barcelona plenty of fresh air at 32-26. Arslan sank his third triple, as Galatasaray tried a small lineup with Micov at power forward. Nachbar nailed a corner triple, which Justin Carter answered with a power layup to make it 35-31. Alex Abrines joined the three-point shootout, but Carter shined with a big dunk. A layup by Satoransky restored a 40-33 Barcelona lead. Navarro hit his trademark 'bomba' and improved on Erceg's turnaround jumper with a triple. Doellman scored in the low post and added a close basket. Erceg buried a corner three-pointer, but Navarro gave the hosts a 52-39 advantage at halftime.

Third quarter: Galatasaray tries, Barcelona keeps margin

Guler hit a close shot immediately after the break, as Barcelona was held scoreless for more than three minutes. Galatasaray started to miss open shots, however, and a three-pointer by Doellman boosted his team's lead to 55-41. Young stepped up with a jump hook, but Doellman banked in a close jumper. Young kept pacing Galatasaray with a put-back slam, as Barcelona tried a taller lineup with Abrines and DeShaun Thomas at the wings. Young made free throws ad Guler – now playing point guard – added a driving layup to give the guests hope at 57-49. Marcelinho Huertas rescued Barcelona with a three-pointer, but Young kept pacing Galatasaray with a put-back layup. Free throws by Tibor Pleiss and Huertas gave the hosts a 63-51 lead. Gonlum took over with a tip-in in traffic, which Nachbar improved on with a corner triple. Erceg answered from downtown to keep Galatasaray within 66-56.

Fourth quarter: Late run seals outcome

Gonlum scored around the basket early in the quarter and a layup in transition by Erceg brought Galatasaray as close as 66-60 with over eight minutes left. A five-meter jumper by Gonlum capped a 0-9 run and caused Barcelona to call timeout at 66-62. Tomic hit a jump hook that Carter bettered with a three-pointer to bring the visitors within 68-65. Satoransky answered from downtown, but Pocius erased it with 3 free throws. Tomic scored again and Satoransky buried a corner triple that gave Barcelona a 76-68 margin. A three-pointer by Mario Hezonja sealed the outcome, 79-68, with over three minutes left. Barcelona improved its defense right when it mattered most and even though Galatasaray called timeout, it was already too little, too late for the guests.

Thursday, February 12, 2015
Euroleague.net
Referees: LOTTERMOSER, ROBERT; VIATOR, EDDIE; HALLIKO, AARE
Attendance: 7066
By Quarter1234
FC Barcelona22301416
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul20191714
End of Quarter1234
FC Barcelona22526682
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul20395670
FC Barcelona
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 DOELLMAN, JUSTIN 23:19 12 3/7 2/3   1 8 9 4         3 3 20
8 HEZONJA, MARIO 15:13 3   1/3     2 2 1   1     4 1  
9 HUERTAS, MARCELINHO 10:17 4 0/2 1/3 1/2   2 2 1   1     2 2 1
10 ABRINES, ALEX 19:23 6 0/1 2/4     1 1     1     1 2 4
11 NAVARRO, JUAN CARLOS 15:55 11 1/2 3/6         2           1 10
13 SATORANSKY, TOMAS 29:43 17 4/5 3/5   1 1 2 4 3       1 2 24
21 PLEISS, TIBOR 9:06 2 0/2   2/2   2 2     2     3 2 -1
23 THOMAS, DESHAUN 14:22   0/2 0/1     3 3       1   1    
24 OLESON, BRAD 15:07     0/2         2     1     1 2
25 JACKSON, EDWIN 0:14                              
34 NACHBAR, BOSTJAN 16:27 15 1/2 4/5 1/1   1 1   1       3 1 13
44 TOMIC, ANTE 30:54 12 6/10     3 6 9 5   1 1   1 1 22
Team             3 3               3
Totals 200:00 82 15/33 16/32 4/5 5 29 34 19 4 6 3 0 19 16 98
        45.5% 50% 80%
Head coach: PASCUAL, XAVI
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 CARTER, JUSTIN 24:17 9 2/3 1/3 2/3   1 1 2 1       1 5 13
4 YOUNG, PATRIC 27:12 11 4/6   3/6 5 9 14 2         4 5 23
5 MICOV, VLADIMIR 19:40 3 1/4 0/2 1/1   2 2     2   1 1 2 -2
7 ERCEG, ZORAN 35:51 18 4/6 3/10 1/3   4 4 1 1         5 18
12 GONLUM, KEREM 13:40 8 4/4     2 1 3               11
17 POCIUS, MARTYNAS 20:01 6 0/2 1/2 3/3   2 2 2   2   1 3 1 2
20 NIKOLOV, KRISTIJAN 2:12     0/1                   1   -2
30 ARROYO, CARLOS 15:07   0/3     1 1 2 1 1 1     2   -2
32 GULER, SINAN 23:26 6 3/8       4 4 1 1 3   1 1   2
33 ARSLAN, ENDER 18:34 9 1/6 2/4 1/1 1   1 6   1     3 1 6
Team           2 3 5               5
Totals 200:00 70 19/42 7/22 11/17 11 27 38 15 4 9 0 3 16 19 74
        45.2% 31.8% 64.7%
Head coach: ATAMAN, ERGIN

Head Coaches

PASCUAL, XAVI
FC Barcelona
"I am happy with the win, it was a very important game for us. We had a very good first half and not so good second half. We circulated the ball really well in the first half. We could have played a little bit better; we allowed some easy baskets, but played well overall. We lost our rhythm on offense in the second half and it was easier for Galatasaray to play defense on us. We held on and managed to get this very important win for us. It is all part of the game and team structures; every player is important and to keep the same rhythm, we need all the players at the same level. Sometimes we manage to do that, sometimes we don't, and that is why we played better in the first half. We shot really well, hitting 50% from three-point range. We generate a lot of space because our opponents try to lock up our big men. We have to carry on adding wins in this really tough group. ALBA Berlin is a good team, with the best defense in the competition. It allowed Maccabi to score just 59 points at home today - and it is our next opponent here. They will arrive with three wins, we have four and it is a very important game for our future in this competition."
ATAMAN, ERGIN
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul
"I think that we played correct basketball tonight. We started the game playing at our tempo and didn't let Barcelona run too much in the first quarter. We stayed in the game and rallied to a one-basket difference in the fourth quarter. Our big mistake was in the second quarter. We allowed Barcelona to find open three-point shots in fast breaks and that made the difference in the game. We allowed 30 points in the second quarter. We started to play better defense in the fourth quarter and played our regular basketball. We managed to return to the game on three-point shots, but physically, Barcelona was stronger than us and tonight, Vlado Micov and Carlos Arroyo came back from injuries. They didn't play the last two games and were not ready to give us their regular basketball. Of course, congratulations to FC Barcelona because they shot really well from three-point range, scoring 16 on 50% shooting, which is really very good. Especially Satoransky, who is not a three-point shooter, but hit very important shots late in the game."

Players

DOELLMAN, JUSTIN
FC Barcelona
"It was a very important win for us, especially here at home. We have to win all our home games and try to get a couple on the road. We played really well on defense in the fourth quarter and were able to open up the game a little bit. They came back late in the third quarter and cut it to 3 points, but we responded well to get a couple of easy baskets, a couple of stops and pull away. The Top 16 has been great – a little ups and downs, but we are happy with the first leg. Now we have ALBA Berlin coming here, it will be interesting."
SATORANSKY, TOMAS
FC Barcelona
"It was a very important game for us. For us every game now is a final because we didn’t start well in the Top 16, so it was really important. Galatasaray had a great game in the second half, but we maintained our difference. "
ARSLAN, ENDER
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul
" We made a great comeback in the second half. Especialy in the third quarter we played very clever. The whole second half we played good defense. It is very difficult to score against Barcelona. We came back to within 3 points, but after the comeback we gave up some easy baskets. It was unfortunate. For us a very positive thing is that in the second half our team defense was very good."
GULER, SINAN
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul
"Our main problem, I think, was the second quarter, in which they scored 30 points against us. We talked at halftime that if we were aggressive, we could return to the game. We made some shots throughout the second half. We missed those shots in the final minutes and it is hard to beat Barcelona at Palau Blaugrana. As a team, we gave everything."