2013-14Top 16Round 6
FC Barcelona 80
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 70
February 14, 2014 CET: 20:45
Local time: 20:45 PALAU BLAUGRANA

Oleson shines late as Barcelona beats Milan

FC Barcelona remained the only unbeaten team in the Top 16 after using a big fourth quarter to blow past EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 80-70 on Friday night at Palau Blaugrana. Milan led for much of the first three quarters. However Barca, which made just 1 of 11 three-pointers in the first 30 minutes, drained 6 of 9 in the fourth quarter and Brad Oleson netted 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter as the hosts took charge and extended its record Top 16 winning streak to 18 straight. Ante Tomic added 16 points for Barcelona, which improved to 6-0 and boasts a two-win lead atop Group E. League-leading scorer Keith Langford amassed 18 points off the bench for Milan, Samardo Samuels added 14 and Curtis Jerrells scored 12 in defeat.

First quarter: Milan’s bigs men stand out early

Juan Carlos Navarro started the scoring with a layup. It took nearly two and a half minutes before David Moss got Milan on the scoreboard with a jumper. The teams traded baskets with a C.J. Wallace triple giving the visitors their first lead, 6-7. Marcelinho Huertas fed Tomic for a layup before Daniel Hackett’s basket-plus-foul left Milan ahead at the first TV timeout. Ganil Lawal put Milan up 4 with an offensive rebound and slam. Boki Nachbar free throws carried Barca within 1. Samuels answered with a fadeaway jumper to leave the visitors ahead 12-15 through 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Despite Sada’s heroics, Milan holds on

Langford scored his first points of the night from the charity stripe. Joey Dorsey powered the offensive glass and dunked with emphasis to ignite the home team. Then Alex Abrines soared for a slam-and-foul. However baskets by Jerrells and Langford kept Milan in control. Victor Sada took charge with a pair of baskets to draw his team within 20-21. Sada kept Barca close with a sweet pass to Tomic for a basket. After a Samuels jumper, Abrines sank a three to tie it and Sada converted a three-point play in transition for a 28-25 Barcelona edge. Sada’s full-court pass to Oleson capped an 8-0 run for the hosts. Samuels turned things around with a basket-plus-foul. Lorbek scored on the offensive glass, however Langford and Bruno Cerella buried threes as Milan went back in front, 32-34. Navarro free throws not only tied him for the career lead in free throws made, but put Barca ahead. But Lawal’s three-point play with 1.5 seconds remaining gave Milan a 35-37 halftime advantage.

Third quarter: Tomic, Marcelinho keep Barca close

Some two minutes passed before Hackett drove for the first basket of the second half. Jerrells beat the 24-second clock with a three to put Milan up 5. Tomic answered in the paint, but a Moss three made it 39-45. Tomic knocked down a baby hook shot and Abrines attacked the basket to narrow the gap to 3. After Samuels scored, Marcelinho answered with a nifty move to keep the hosts close. Hackett attacked the rim for a two-handed baseline slam and a 45-50 lead. With a pair of highlights – a Marcelinho floater off the glass and Oleson’s pass to an open Dorsey for a wicked slam – Barcelona was back within 1. After a Milan timeout, Dorsey was called for an unsportsmanlike foul while stopping Samuels on his way to the basket. He made the ensuing free throws to create a 49-52 margin.

Fourth quarter: Oleson’s 15 points fuel Barcelona comeback

Left wide open, Oleson tied the game with a three to start the fourth quarter. Kostas Papanikolaou rejected Langford and Marcelinho sank another three for Barcelona’s first lead of the second half, 55-52. Samuels scored inside, but Papanikolaou bagged his team’s third straight three. Langford beat the 24-second clock with a deep three over Marcelinho to keep things tight. After Lorbek scored inside, Langford converted a three-point play to tie the game at 60-60. Oleson shined with the game’s next 5 points, separated by another Papanikolaou block. Then Tomic added a basket-plus-foul. Jerrells drove for a tough layup only to see Marcelinho make 2 free throws on the next possession. Langford kept Milan’s hopes alive with a three-point play to make it 70-65 with two and a half minutes to play. Oleson drained a back-breaking three, but Jerrells responded with a quick triple of his own. However a Nachbar three and an Oleson floater with just less than a minute to go iced the victory.

Ante Tomic - FC Barcelona - EB13
Friday, February 14, 2014
Euroleague.net
Referees: CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS; ZASHCHUK, SERGEY; VOJINOVIC, MILIJA
Attendance: 5403 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
FC Barcelona12231431
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan15221518
End of Quarter1234
FC Barcelona12354980
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan15375270
FC Barcelona
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
00 PULLEN, JACOB 0:02                              
6 DORSEY, JOEY 14:07 6 3/3   0/2 3 3 6 1 1 2     2 1 9
8 SADA, VICTOR 14:01 7 3/4   1/2 2 2 4 2   1     1 4 13
9 HUERTAS, MARCELINHO 26:19 9 2/6 1/4 2/2   4 4 4         1 3 12
10 ABRINES, ALEX 17:03 7 2/2 1/2 0/1           2     2 3 4
11 NAVARRO, JUAN CARLOS 16:53 6 2/3 0/3 2/2   1 1 1   2     1 2 3
16 PAPANIKOLAOU, KOSTAS 21:22 3 0/1 1/1     2 2 2 1 1 2   2 2 8
23 HEZONJA, MARIO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
24 OLESON, BRAD 24:24 17 4/7 3/7     5 5 1 1       1 2 18
25 LORBEK, ERAZEM 16:21 4 2/3     1   1 1       1 2   2
34 NACHBAR, BOSTJAN 23:37 5 0/3 1/3 2/2   6 6 3   1     4 1 5
44 TOMIC, ANTE 25:51 16 7/10   2/3 3 1 4 1   3   1 1 4 16
Team           1 1 2               2
Totals 200:00 80 25/42 7/20 9/14 10 25 35 16 3 12 2 2 17 22 92
        59.5% 35% 64.3%
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
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 GENTILE, ALESSANDRO 5:59                   1     1   -2
7 CERELLA, BRUNO 6:32 3   1/1   1 1 2 1         1   5
9 MELLI, NICOLO 13:50           1 1   1       3   -1
12 HACKETT, DANIEL 34:51 9 4/11 0/2 1/1   1 1 3 2 1     4 4 5
14 KANGUR, KRISTJAN 4:27                              
23 LANGFORD, KEITH 25:03 18 3/7 2/6 6/6 1 1 2 2 1     1 1 6 19
24 SAMUELS, SAMARDO 20:22 14 5/8   4/5 2 4 6   1 2 1 1 2 3 16
30 WALLACE, C.J. 16:48 3 0/3 1/2   2 4 6   3 1 1   3   5
31 LAWAL, GANI 19:20 6 2/5   2/5 3 3 6     1     1 3 7
34 MOSS, DAVID 22:52 5 1/2 1/7   1 3 4 1 1 2     4   -2
55 JERRELLS, CURTIS 29:56 12 3/6 2/3     1 1     1     2 1 7
Team             2 2     2          
Totals 200:00 70 18/42 7/21 13/17 10 21 31 7 9 11 2 2 22 17 59
        42.9% 33.3% 76.5%
Head coach: BANCHI, LUCA

Head Coaches

PASCUAL, XAVI
FC Barcelona
"We are very happy with this important win. Our crowd helped us a lot, being really positive. They knew that we were struggling after losing the Copa del Rey final and we found our rhythm, especially hitting shots, and we managed to win. They played slow, using long possessions, but we played good defense against one of the teams that fits us worst in the competition, as their outside players can find a lot of mismatches in one-on-one situations. We gave a good answer with our rotations and even though it took us some time to excel on offense, we managed to do it in the fourth quarter. We struggled from the free throw line and in three-point shots until the fourth quarter, when we managed to close the game. We won due to the hard work in the opening three quarters and our efficiency in the fourth. We needed to win, and do it fast - and we managed to do it. It is important for the standings; we are in a good position after six games."
BANCHI, LUCA
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
"It is an honor to play in Palau Blaugrana, especially in the Top 16. As we know, it is really hard to win in here, as we saw today. We played a good game, competing hard, but Barcelona rallied in the fourth quarter, improving its shooting percentage. We thought that Barcelona's loss against Real Madrid in the cup final would make them more aggressive, especially in this game. We played with character, but lacked accuracy down the stretch. Barca has endless resources and you pay a high price for every mistake your make. Those mistakes did not allow us to control the game until the end.

"We played against a team with a great record and a good series of home wins. We managed to play aggressive and work hard on defense and on the ball for 32-33 minutes. We managed to make it difficult for them, but we lacked our initial aggressiveness in the final minutes, and allowed open shots."

Players

LORBEK, ERAZEM
FC Barcelona
"We beat a very good team that has shown it has enough to talent to challenge for big goals. After the Copa del Rey, we knew that this game would not be easy, but maybe the loss in the cup final against Madrid helped us to win the game, because we cannot afford two consecutive losses in narrow games. Their backcourt players hurt us a lot, they scored a lot from outside, but we won, have a 6-0 record and are very happy about it."
WALLACE, C.J.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
"We managed to play well at the same rhythm for 40 minutes, but Barcelona increased its playing level down the stretch. We lacked a little bit of extra energy to win the game, but we have a lot of room for improvement. We have to keep working hard."
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