Barça collapsed in the final quarter of round four of the EuroLeague, handing Zalgiris Kaunas an 88-81 victory at the Palau Blaugrana in Barcelona and surrendering their perfect home record. The hosts surrendered a ten-point advantage established at the end of the third quarter, echoing a similar late collapse in Murcia the previous weekend. Zalgiris outscored Barça 33-16 in the final ten minutes, driven by 19 points from Carsen Edwards and 12 points and nine rebounds from Jonas Valanciunas.
Fourth-Quarter Collapse Eclipses Early Brilliance
The home side entered the final period holding a comfortable 65-55 cushion after limiting the visitors to just 16 points in the third quarter. However, a surging Zalgiris side orchestrated a decisive 15-3 run led by Edwards, who connected on four of eight three-point attempts over the course of the evening. Barça’s rotation adjustments under Aleksander Sekulic failed to stem the tide as the offense stalled and defensive intensity evaporated down the stretch. Olek Balcerowski fouled out in the 38th minute, and teammate Tyrese Martin followed him to the bench with five personal fouls in the 40th minute as the game wound down to its conclusion in front of 4,346 spectators.
Individual Efforts Fall Short for the Home Side
Justin Robinson shouldered the primary scoring load for the hosts, finishing with a team-high 20 points, but his outside shooting dried up once Zalgiris tightened its perimeter defense in the closing minutes. Kevin Punter added nine points while struggling against defensive attention, and Tosan Evbuomwan contributed eight points in his club debut after recovering from a shoulder injury. Despite a spirited interior battle between Balcerowski and Valanciunas that briefly energized the crowd, Barça suffered from a glaring disparity on the boards, getting outrebounded 36-26 across the 40 minutes.
Statistical Breakdown of the EuroLeague Clash
The box score illustrates how the Lithuanian visitors decisively won the opening and closing frames while weathering a strong middle push from the hosts:
- Final Score: Barça 81, Zalgiris Kaunas 88
- Quarter Progression (Barça): 18, 23, 24, 16
- Quarter Progression (Zalgiris): 23, 16, 16, 33
- Top Scorers: Justin Robinson (20 points for Barça); Carsen Edwards (19 points for Zalgiris)
- Rebounds: Zalgiris 36, Barça 26
