FC Barcelona fall to Málaga in OT, 89-84

UNICAJA, 89
FC BARCELONA, 84

FC Barcelona lost a chance to take a 2–1 lead in the semi-finals of the ACB postseason, and instead find themselves on the brink of elimination after falling to a resilient Málaga 89–84 in overtime on Wendesday night.

Small forward Carlos Suárez led the Andalusians with 13 points and 11 rebounds, five of which were on the offensive glass. Málaga had three other players score in double digits as Ryan Toolson added 12, Jayson Granger scored 11, and Caleb Green added 10. Fran Vázquez had a game-high 13 rebounds. Deshaun Thomas led the way for Barça with 17 points and five boards, while going three for four from three-point territory.

The Catalans were ahead for most of the game but ceded ground late and allowed Málaga to tie the game with one minute to play. But Málaga missed out on their final two possessions, giving Barça a chance to win it. Barça only needed a basket, but Justin Doellman's three-point shot came up short and the game went to overtime.

Málaga opened the extra period with a 4–0 run from which Barça couldn't recover. FC Barcelona will try to stave off elimination on Friday in game four at Málaga.

Match Stats:

Unicaja: Granger (11), Kuzminskas (4), Stefansson (7), Thomas (5), Vázquez (8) –starting five–, Gabriel (5), Markovic (7), Vasileiadis (7), Toolson (12), Suárez (13), Green (10) and Golubovic.

FC Barcelona: Satoransky (12), Navarro, Thomas (17), Lampe (8), Tomic (12) –starting five–, Doellman (11), Hezonja, Huertas (15), Abrines, Pleiss (2) and Oleson (7).

Referees: Giménez, Perea and Araña.