Nico Laprovittola and Alex Abrines lit it up from behind the arc in Round 33
Barcelona found its shooting touch just in time against Maccabi
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 33 of 34
Group Regular Season
w
w
l
l
w
l
w
w
w
w
Just as expected, FC Barcelona had to battle hard to beat Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 92-89 at home in Round 33. Nico Laprovittola hit the go-ahead three-pointer, and Barca had more good news from beyond the arc.
Maccabi seemed to have full control of the game when Tamir Blatt struck from downtown, giving his team an 80-85 lead with over 4 minutes remaining. Yet, Jan Vesely rescued Barca with a crucial basket, Jabari Parker buried an off-balanced shot and Alex Abrines struck from downtown in a 9-0 run that put Barca on the right track, 89-85.
Even when Maccabi tied it at 89-89, Laprovittola delivered from beyond the arc to send Barca to the playoffs.
"I think it is not the last shot, it was the whole game. We played with amazing energy at home against this team. They are playing very, very good and I think it is a huge win for us," Laprovittola said afterward. "We have to control what we can control. We have to stay [on track], to keep playing our game, and I think we will get chances [to do something special in the playoffs]."
Three-pointers proved key
Laprovittola had 15 points and matched his season high with 9 assists. Over the last three games, Laprovittola had hit 5-of-15 three-pointers before that vital shot, but he buried it with a lot of confidence.
Abrines had 17 points on 5-of-7 three-pointers. He hit three of those right after Maccabi's biggest lead of the game, 25-35, allowing Barca to stay in the game. After struggling a little bit after his injury, Abrines is showing his best form right before the playoffs, hitting 9-of-13 shots from beyond the arc in the last three games.
Parker also hit three consecutive three-pointers to give his team a 60-52 margin late in the third quarter. The rest of the team went 0 of 9 from beyond the arc, but Barca outrebounded Maccabi 40-35. Playmaker Tomas Satoransky had a career-high 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Vesely, meanwhile, finished with 17 points and 7 boards.
"Sometimes we lost focus. They are a very, very talented team and showed they could punish our lack of focus," Vesely commented. "But we fought and believed that we could do it and, in the end, 'Lapro' hit a crazy shot and we did. Still one more round to play. Everything is open, but we are trying to do our best to finish strong and get the best position."
On to the next target: Barca can get home-court advantage in the playoffs if Anadolu Efes Istanbul beats Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul on Friday night. If not, Barca will most likely need to beat LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in both teams' regular-season finale.