2020-21Regular SeasonRound 6
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 71
FC Barcelona 72
October 30, 2020 CET: 20:30
Local time: 20:30 BUESA ARENA

Barcelona rallies past Baskonia

FC Barcelona registered its fourth consecutive win by downing TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 71-72 at Buesa Arena on Friday. Baskonia led 71-61 with 3 minutes left but Barcelona improved its defense while Mirotic, Kyle Kuric, Davies and Abrines fueled a 0-12 run that put the guests ahead, 71-72. It all came down to the final play, when Alec Peters took on a mid-range shot which was blocked by Mirotic as the home team failed to score in the final four minutes. Mirotic led the winners with 18 points. Brandon Davies added 12 while Alex Abrines had 10 for Barcelona. Zoran Dragic led Baskonia with 15 points. Achille Polonara added 14, Youssoupha Fall had 11 and Tonye Jekiri 10. Barcelona improved to 5-1 while Baskonia dropped to 2-2.


Rolands Smits got Barcelona going with a jump hook but Rokas Giedraitis and Dragic gave Baskonia a 7-5 lead. Cory Higgins and Davies soon allowed Barcelona to get its first lead, 7-9. Mirotic came off the bench and scored three consecutive baskets to make Baskonia call timeout at 10-15. Luca Vildoza struck from downtown and Pierria Henry scored twice around the basket but Kuric and Leo Bolmaro restored a 17-20 Barcelona lead. A coast-to-coast layup by Dragic fixed the score at 19-20 after 10 minutes. Mirotic kept pacing the guests with a three-point play early in the second quarter. Henry and Nick Calathes traded driving baskets, and Jekiri scored down low for a 23-25 Baskonia deficit. Adam Hanga scored in transition and Pierre Oriola hit a jump hook that made it a six-point game, 23-29. Fall followed a tip-in with a dunk but Thomas Heurtel banked in a floater and Hanga added an alley-oop slam. Heurtel and Abrines downed three-pointers but Fall dunked again, getting help from Polonara and Henry to keep Baskonia within 37-39 at halftime. Davies dunked off a steal before Dragic and Mirotic traded triples, and Davies beat the shot clock with a jumper that gave Barcelona a 40-46 edge. Vildoza buried a jumper and Dragic brought Baskonia closer and Fall netted a three-point play, but Mirotic stepped up with consecutive put-back baskets and Oriola added a layup for a 48-56 Barcelona lead. Jekiri, Dragic and Polonara cut that to 56-58 after 30 minutes, and Polonara followed a layup with a triple to give Baskonia a 61-58 lead early in the fourth quarter. Jekiri downed a mid-range jumper, Dragic added a layup and Polonara capped a huge 17-0 run with a huge put-back slam that made Barcelona stop the game at 69-58. Abrines rescued the guests with a three-pointer, getting help from Mirotic and Kuric to give Barcelona hope at 71-65. Davies scored in the paint and fed Kuric for a triple that made it a one-point game, 71-70, with 52.6 seconds left. Abrines dunked off a steal to complete Barcelona's comeback, 71-72. Baskonia had a chance to win the game but Henry missed around the basket and Mirotic blocked Peters's shot at the buzzer.

Pivotal performer

Nikola Mirotic returned to action, coming off the bench to make the difference. He finished the game with 18 points on 7-of-10 two-point shots, adding 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and the game-sealing block down the stretch. A truly all-around performance.

Game-changing moment

Baskonia led by 10 points with just over 3 minutes remaining and had the chance to extend that lead but Zoran Dragic was off the mark with his two-point attempt. 10 seconds later Mirotic sparked a comeback that would eventually end up with the away team triumphing as Baskonia failed to score again.

Stellar stat

Both teams were close in every aspect of the game. Baskonia had 21 turnovers and Barcelona limited those to 18. Barcelona also had slightly better percentages from downtown (33.3%, Baskonia 27.8%) and especially from the foul line (80%, Baskonia 66.7%). Those small details made the difference down the stretch.

Next game

On Thursday, November 5. Baskonia hosts LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne at 20:30 CET, as Jekiri faces his former team for the first time. Barcelona visits ALBA Berlin, featuring former coach Aito Garcia Reneses and former player Marcus Eriksson, at 19:00 CET.

Nikola Mirotic - FC Barcelona - EB20
Friday, October 30, 2020
Euroleague.net
Referees: LAMONICA, LUIGI; NIKOLIC, UROS; PETEK, SASO
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz19181915
FC Barcelona20191914
End of Quarter1234
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz19375671
FC Barcelona20395872
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 RAIESTE, SANDER DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3 VILDOZA, LUCA 24:04 8 1/3 1/4 3/5 1 1 2 3   3     3 6 6
5 JEKIRI, TONYE 18:31 10 4/5   2/2 1 3 4 3 2 6     5 1 8
7 HENRY, PIERRIA 32:06 8 4/9 0/3   3 5 8 7 2 4 1   1 2 15
8 SEDEKERSKIS, TADAS 3:39 1     1/2   2 2           1 1 2
12 DIOP, ILIMANE 7:22           1 1 1   2     1   -1
19 FALL, YOUSSOUPHA 13:46 11 4/4   3/5 2 1 3 1 1 2 1   2 3 14
25 PETERS, ALEC 16:35   0/3     1   1 2 1 1   2     -2
30 DRAGIC, ZORAN 28:04 15 3/5 2/4 3/5 1 1 2     1   1 2 3 10
31 GIEDRAITIS, ROKAS 18:13 4 1/3 0/1 2/2         1 1       5 6
33 POLONARA, ACHILLE 33:39 14 4/5 2/5   2 4 6 3 1       1 1 20
47 KURUCS, ARTURS 4:01     0/1         1   1     1   -2
Team           1 4 5     1         4
Totals 200:00 71 21/37 5/18 14/21 12 22 34 21 8 22 2 3 17 22 80
        56.8% 27.8% 66.7%
Head coach: IVANOVIC, DUSKO
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
FC Barcelona
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 DAVIES, BRANDON 19:30 12 4/10 0/1 4/5   4 4 1 1 3   1 5 4 5
8 HANGA, ADAM 16:02 5 2/2 0/1 1/2   1 1   1 2 1   2 1 3
9 BOLMARO, LEANDRO 8:02 3 0/1 1/1             1     2   -1
10 SMITS, ROLANDS 16:15 2 1/4     1 3 4 1       1 2   1
13 HEURTEL, THOMAS 15:47 5 1/3 1/3     1 1 3 1 3     2 1 2
18 ORIOLA, PIERRE 16:16 4 2/4   0/1 4 3 7 1   2     2 1 6
21 ABRINES, ALEX 23:46 10 2/2 2/5   1 2 3 1 2   1   3   11
22 HIGGINS, CORY 23:19 2 0/1   2/2       2 1 1       2 5
23 MARTINEZ, SERGI 0:13                              
24 KURIC, KYLE 15:25 9 1/1 1/3 4/4       1         1 2 9
33 MIROTIC, NIKOLA 27:46 18 7/10 1/2 1/1 5 2 7 2 2 4 1     5 27
99 CALATHES, NICK 17:39 2 1/4 0/2     2 2 6 2 2     3 1 3
Team           2   2     1         1
Totals 200:00 72 21/42 6/18 12/15 13 18 31 18 10 19 3 2 22 17 72
        50% 33.3% 80%
Head coach: JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS

Head Coaches

IVANOVIC, DUSKO
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
"Today we showed that nothing is impossible. At some point, it looked impossible to lose the game but we demonstrated that impossible is possible, in the negative. But this team had the character and the style to do it differently. This is basketball. Probably in our last two or three defenses, we didn't have the aggresiveness we had before. We didn't take advantage of the fouls we had before the penalty to avoid easy baskets. We had a couple of easy turnovers and this all counts. But this is why basketball is beautiful: when you think it is all over, it isn't. We will keep fighting to turn impossible into possible, in the positive. Proving it once in the negative is enough – the next time, we want to do it in the positive. It happens! I am angry. Very, very angry, but what I can do now? We cannot do anything right now, just think about the next game. We had these turnovers, some rushed shots, thinking of winning easily but above all, we lowered our level on defense. They scored two three-pointers and returned to the game, and with two turnovers...it happens, but what can I say?"
JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS
FC Barcelona

"The game didn't look good for us at some point. We tried to search for the solutions and, in the end, I think we came here with the right mentality. I think somewhere along the way we lost it and it was one of those games that, somehow, you win and you try to learn from it. You are happy and you just go home. Strange game."

"Clearly, we are very happy with this win. Things were really uphill for us in the third and fourth quarter, we didn't play our basketball. We played with a lot of energy in the beginning but when Baskonia started to play better, we started to doubt a lot and that can't be. But still, winning in here with a really bad three-point shooting percentage and a lot of turnovers is good. I believe that, in general, we entered the game with a very good mentality but we had a lot of ups and downs. If you think that a coach can say a lot of things, it is really difficult. I can say what it is happening on the court: we cannot turn the ball over, we don't take shots, we don't power the offensive rebound when we miss shots... I try to say what it is happening on the court and how we can change it. I was looking for the right five players and since we couldn't score, I went from the best offensive five I have, with Kuric, Mirotic, Abrines and Heurtel, because we needed to score. We made Baskonia doubt and I still don't know how to won the game. What can I say? It is something that only happens a few times."

Players

MIROTIC, NIKOLA
FC Barcelona
"First of all, it was a very important game for us. I think we had a really good beginning of the game. We didn't start well the third quarter. They took the game back and then we had a situation, eight points down in the last two minutes, but this team has experienced players. I think we really stepped up at the end, especially defensively, and offensively we really executed well. It was a good game for us. We just need to continue to improve as a team. We have to be better, play better for 40 minutes."
DAVIES, BRANDON
FC Barcelona
"Games like this come down to who wants it more and fights until the end. So I am proud of my guys. We stayed until the end."