Markus Howardwith 37 points, has destroyed Barça this Sunday and has brought Baskonia closer to the playoffs of the Endesa League (103-96).
Howard reached his best scoring mark as a professional in a game with 8 triples, many of them of great quality, and two very important in the final stretch of a match in which Barça returned to the game on several occasions.
The Catalan team dominated from the early stages and punished the Basque team’s lack of defensive activity, which struggled to stop one-on-one from one of the visitors, who were more comfortable in attack.
The entry of Matt Costello improved Baskonia’s performance, which reduced the difference on the scoreboard thanks to its 7 consecutive points, which counteracted those of Jabari Parkerthe most successful of Barça, who faded during the first round and found Markus Howard, who turned the match around, 23-19.
Baskonia forgave several free kicks and between Darío Brizuela and Willy Hernangómez they kept afloat a Barça that was suffering from the direct and indirect blocks of its rival.
Points from free throws
Joel Parra added to the scoring, but Baskonia remained ahead by taking advantage of second plays and a defense without energy from a Barça that suffered the wrath of Markus Howard, who with five consecutive points and a triple from nine meters opened a significant gap (50-42) at halftime.
The Baskonista scorer started the third round strong with 16 practically consecutive points in five minutes that were answered by Barça by taking advantage of the offensive rebound. The culés brought out his physique and took advantage of his size to punish the locals with personal fouls that helped them score from the free kick to prevent Baskonia from going on the scoreboard based on triples.
The exchange of baskets at the beginning of the last round favored Baskonia, who gave up speed to play five on five.
But Barça’s inside game was Roger Grimau’s best weapon, and when the free shots they had failed, they decided to play closer to the rim. In addition, Argentine Nico Laprovittola began to attack the rim successfully, after missing many minutes, and brought his team within two points, 92-90 with 2:43 left.
Two triples by Markus Howard, one of them with a personal foul, closed a round game for Baskonia, which clings to the ACB playoff.
[object Object]Baskonia: Miller-McIntyre (4), Howard (37), Marinkovic (9), Sedekerskis (11), Kotsar (8) -starting five-, Raieste (-), Costello (23), Theodore (2), Rogkavopoulos (- ) and Díez (9).
Barça: Satoransky (3), Laprovittola (12), Kalinic (5), Parker (21), Hernangómez (16) -starting five-, Da Silva (-), Vesely (14), Brizuela (5), Abrines (3) , Jokubaitis (5), Parra (6) and Rubio (6).
2024-03-10 20:14:48
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