Barça earned a key victory at the WiZink Center by beating Real Madrid 75-89. It was a game of two halves with Madrid dominating the first and the Catalans, thanks to Higgins' 14 points in the third quarter, taking the second.
Real dominance
Real Madrid dominated the opening stages with an initial 9-0, and it took Barça five minutes to open their account with a triple by Calathes. Pau Gasol, with 4 points, 5 rebounds and a block in the first quarter, enabled the visitors to claw back some of the deficit and end the period 20-15.
Barça weren't successful from the free throw line, allowing Real to surge further ahead, however, thanks to the effectiveness of Kuric and Gasol, Saras' side tied the game (32-32, min 19). By the end of the first half the advantage was down to three points (36-33).
Barça reaction
Higgins scored 14 points in the third period, and thanks to Davies and the triples of Mirotic, Barça, with a run of 0-17, went up by 10 (44-54), a distance they maintained by the end of the period (52-62).
In the last 10 minutes of the match, Barça kept up a good pace and, with 56 points scored in the second half, ended the match with a clear margin of victory (75-89) that puts them within one win of the title. This Tuesday at the Palau (10.00pm CEST) Saras' side have the first opportunity to make it a reality.
Match Details:
Real Madrid, 75
Barça, 89
Real Madrid: Alocen (7), Abalde (7), Taylor (2), Tyus (4) and Tavares (16) –starters-, Causeur (12), Rudy (10), Vukcevic (-), Garuba (1), Poirier (5), Carroll (3) and Llull (8).
Barça: Calathes (12), Hanga (6), Higgins (26), Mirotic (9) and Davies (13) –starters-, Westermann (-), Bolmaro (-), Smits (2), Gasol (8), Abrines (-) and Kuric (10).
Periods: 20-15 / 16-18 / 16-29 / 23-27
Officials: Carlos Peruga, Jordi Aliaga and Martín Caballero.