After losing the second match in Barcelona (75-90), which tied the series 1-1, the azulgrana team responded in the third match with an overwhelming first half (31-49), but lost steam in the third quarter (49- 59) and needed the best version of his star in the final period to secure the victory.
Nick Calathes (8 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 19 PIR credits) and Rolands Smits (12 points and 5 rebounds) seconded Mirotic, while Vladimir Lucic (17 points, 6 rebounds and 21 PIR) and Augustine Rubit ( 14 points, 8 rebounds and a PIR of 27) were the benchmarks for Bayern Munich.
Barça started the match like a roller, driven by three triples without failure from Nico Laprovittola and a fourth, at the buzzer and from nine meters, from Sertac Sanli (5-18, min. 5).
The Spanish team attacked in the blink of an eye, without giving time for the German defense to take hold, and easily found Nikola Mirotic in the zone, author of 8 points in the first quarter.
Bayern tightened the market at the end of the opening period (17-22, min.9) with the leading role of Vladimir Lucic (7 goals in the first quarter), but Barça recovered the lead scoring collectively in the paint (17-30 , min.12).
Barça’s defensive waste prevented the Bavarian team from attacking smoothly, reduced to successive individual runs with little success (3 of 11 in triples and 6 of 17 in shots) despite the claw of Augustine Rubit (9 goals at halftime).
On the other hand, the Catalan team was a scoring machine (5 of 11 in triples and 12 of 18 in shots from two), well oiled under the direction of Nick Calathes (6 assists), with the most accurate version of Rolands Smits (10 points), Dante Exum (7) and Mirotic (12) to put the game on track at halftime (31-49).
Barça consolidated the advantage after passing through the locker room with a prominent role from Calathes, scorer of four points in a row (39-57, min. 25), but he held his breath when Brandon Davies left the court with shoulder pain after a spectacular fall . Luckily for the Barça team, the pivot reappeared later.
The Catalan team got stuck in attack in the final stretch of the third quarter, a blockade that Bayern, guided by Lucic and Nick Weiler-Babb, took advantage of to get back into the game (49-59, min.30).
In the most delicate moment, Mirotic came to the rescue of Barça with eleven points (56-72, min. 34), and the defensive effort of the azulgranas certified the victory against a Bayern that believed in the comeback until the end (66- 75). If he wins this Friday in Munich, the azulgrana team will qualify for the Final Four.
– Datasheet
66 – Bayern Munich (17+14+18+17): Weiler-Babb (9), Dedovic (-), Thomas (4), Lucic (17), Radosevic (2) -initial team-, Hunter (7), Jaramaz (13), George (-), Obst (-), Rubit (14), Sisko (-) and Schilling (-).
75 – Barça (26+23+10+16): Calathes (8), Laprovittola (9), Hayes-Davis (2), Mirotic (25), Sanli (3) -initial team-, Davies (2), Exum (7), Sergi Martínez (-), Smits (12), Kuric (7) and Jokubaitis (-).
Referees: Borys Ryzhyk (UCR), Sreten Radovic (CRO) and Mehdi Difallah (FRA). Without eliminated.
Incidents: Third game of the Euroleague quarterfinal series played at the Audi Dome in Munich.
