Nanterre stuns Barca for its first Euroleague win

JSF Nanterre made history by rallying to edge FC Barcelona 67-71 in Group A on the road on Thursday. The victory was the French champ’s first in its debut season in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. Nanterre became the first French team to win in Palau Blaugrana in more than 17 years - the last French squad to win in Barcelona was Asvel Basket, 78-81, on October 16, 1996. Nanterre is now tied with Barcelona at 1-2 in the group. DeShaun Thomas paced the winners with 14 points. Sergii Gladyr added 12, Will Daniels scored 11 and Trent Meacham 10 for Nanterre. Alex Abrines scored 15 points for Barcelona, while Maciej Lampe added 11. A layup by Ali Traore gave Nanterre a lead, 11-12, midway through the first quarter. Kostas Papanikolaou and Joey Dorsey fueled a 14-0 run that put the hosts ahead for the better part of the game, 22-12. A dunk by Abrines soon made it a 12-point game, but Thomas and an outstanding Gladyr brought Nanterre back to life and a layup by Meacham fixed the halftime score at 39-37. Barcelona improved its defense after the break found a go-to guy in Abrines, who allowed his team to get a 60-48 lead late in the third quarter. Gladyr, Thomas and Meacham fueled a 3-17 run that put Nanterre back ahead, 63-65, with over four minutes left. It all came down to the final 28.8 seconds, when free throws by Victor Sada tied it at 67-67. Je'Kel Foster took over with the game-winning layup and Juan Carlos Navarro missed from downtown at the buzzer.

First quarter: Late run puts Barca ahead

Lampe got Barcelona going with a three-pointer, but a runner by Meacham brought Nanterre within 3-2. Ante Tomic banked in a close shot and free throws by Navarro boosted the hosts' lead to 7-2. Daniels stepped up with a driving layup that Lampe erased with a jump hook. Meacham scored in penetration and a wild reverse layup by Daniels brought Nanterre as close as 9-8. Gladyr capped a 0-6 with a one-handed jumper in transition, good for a 9-10 Nanterre lead. Lampe and Ali Traore exchanged baskets and a free throw by Joey Dorsey tied it at 12-12. Marcelinho Huertas sank foul shots and a coast-to-coast layup by Kostas Papanikolaou gave the hosts some fresh air, 16-12. Abrines hit a six-meter shot, Dorsey made free throws and found Papanikolaou for an easy basket for a double-digit Barcelona lead. Abrines struck from downtown to cap a 14-0 run. Thomas kept Nanterre within 25-15 after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Nanterre rallies to stay in the game

Thomas kept pacing Nanterre and hit an off-balance basket early in the second quarter. Bostjan Nachbar made free throws and Abrines dunked off a steal to boost the hosts' lead to 29-17. Thomas buried a catch-and-shoot triple from the top of the key and Traore scored around the basket to give Nanterre some hope at 29-22. Barcelona struggled to score and head coach Xavi Pascual brought Navarro and Tomic back on court. Sada shined with a follow-up layup and Tomic hit a jump hook for a 33-22 score. Traore hit foul shots and an off-balance triple by Gladyr made it a 6-point game. Dorsey stepped up with a put-back layup that Daniels matched with a baseline jumper. Gladyr struck again from downtown, forcing Barcelona to call timeout at 35-32. Lampe hit a long two-pointer and a floating layup by Huertas extended the hosts' lead to 39-32. A running three-pointer by Foster and a layup by Meacham brought Nanterre within 39-37 at halftime.

Third quarter: Abrines, Barcelona take off

Huertas nailed a three-pointer off the dribble right after the break. Nanterre could not find the way to the basket and a power layup by Lampe gave the hosts a 44-37 margin. Daniels rescued Nanterre with a bomb from downtown and matched Huertas's floater with a put-back layup to make it 46-42. Abrines stepped up with a three-pointer, as Barcelona brought Sada back on court forbetter on-the-ball defense on Meacham. Nanterre could not find the way to the basket and a wild reverse layup by Papanikolaou made it a 9-point game. Gladyr and Tomic exchanged baskets and free throws by Nachbar boosted Barcelona's lead back to double digits, 55-44. Jo Passave-Ducteil made free throws and Meacham hit a floating jumper, but Abrines bettered that with back-to-back three-pointers, one from each corner. Jeremy Nzeulie joined the three-point shootout to fix the score at 60-51.

Fourth quarter: Nanterre pulls off the upset!

Barcelona tried to spread the floor with Abrines and Navarro together on court, as the game turned into a physical battle. Passave-Ducteil hit free throws and the hosts picked up back-to-back 24-second violations, forcing Barcelona to call a much-needed timeout. Thomas split free throws and added a driving layup to make it a 4-point game with six minutes to go. Papanikolaou split free throws and added a basket, but a red-hot Thomas struck from downtown to make it 63-59. Nzeulie scored around the basket and a dunk by Gladyr tied the game at 63-63. Meachan shined with a driving layup that completed the guests' comeback, 63-65. Tomic rescued Barcelona with a close basket. Free throws by Nzeulie put Navarro back ahead, 65-67, in the next-to-last minute. Navarro and Lampe missed respective shots, but Nanterre sent Sada to the foul line with 28.8 seconds left. He made both attempts for a 67-67 tie. Nanterre called timeout and Foster scored the go-ahead driving layup with 7 seconds remaining. Navarro missed from downtown at the buzzer, allowing the many Nanterre fans in the arena to celebrate a historic win!