FC Barcelona started Tuesday night's game against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv with Tomas Satoransky and Nicolas Laprovittola as its starting guard duo, but instead it was a couple of guards who came off the bench that helped the Spanish team get the win: Cory Higgins and Rokas Jokubaitis.

In Barca's *clásico* defeat to archrival Real Madrid in Round 20, Satoransky scored 12 points and Laprovittola added 8, meaning they combined for 20 points. Meanwhile, Higgins recorded 10 points on the night, whereas Jokubaitis had just 2.

The story was somewhat different in Round 21, with Higgins and Jokubaitis being Barca's leading scorers on 15 and 14 points, respectively. Satoransky had 9, while Laprovittola finished with 5 points to his name.

It wasn’t just the totals that Higgins and Jokubaitis scored, though. Instead, it was the timing of their baskets. With both players having come off the bench, Jokubaitis hit from behind the arc in the latter stages of the first quarter to give Barca a 20-15 lead. Higgins was scoreless in the opening 10 minutes.

The best plays of Rokas Jokubaitis and Cory Higgins in FC Barcelona's 83-78 win against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, as they combined for 29 points.

Rokas Jokubaitis and Cory Higgins vs. Maccabi

In the second quarter, Jokubaitis scored Barca's first points of the quarter as he saw another three-pointer fall, making it 23-18, while Higgins went on to 6 points before halftime. After the break, Higgins scored a two-pointer midway through the third quarter before Jokubaitis went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final 1:13 to make it a 5-point game entering the fourth, 62-67.

Indeed, in the final quarter of play, Jokubaitis first stepped up by making a pair of two-pointers as Barca trimmed the gap, 68-72. Then, with 3:32 remaining, Higgins hit a three-pointer to give Barca its first lead since early in the third quarter, 76-74. With 2:30 left on the clock, Higgins got across to block Wade Baldwin's three-point attempt, and 13 seconds later, he made both of his free throws. When there was 1:11 to go, Higgins continued his heroics by staying ice cool at the line once again, as he gave Barca an 8-point lead, 82-74.

Barca went on to win the game, completing the regular-season sweep against Maccabi and making amends for its loss in the *clásico* last Thursday night, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the play of Higgins and Jokubaitis off the bench.

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Barcelona's guard depth proved pivotal against Maccabi

FC Barcelona v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2023-01-31T19:30:00.000Z)

Olympiacos Piraeus defeated Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 72-92 in Round 22 after leading the game from start to finish. Kostas Papanikolaou had to do a lot with it with an outstanding shooting performance.

Papanikolaou finished the game with a season-high 21 points, hitting most of his shots. He was 1-of-2 inside the arc, missing a shot in the next-to-last minute once the outcome was clear. Papanikolaou also sank 3 of 3 three-pointers and went 10 of 11 from the foul line. He added 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 fouls drawn for a PIR of 22 on a day in which the Reds missed two of their main pillars, playmaker Kostas Sloukas and forward Alec Peters.

Isaiah Canaan, Kostas Papanikolaou and Giannoulis Larentzakis combined for 52 points to lead Olympiacos Piraeus to a 72-92 road win against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul.

Papanikolaou, Canaan, Larentzakis step up in Round 22

Without Sloukas, Giannoulis Larentzakis and Isaiah Canaan saw extended playing time and made the most of it, too. Larentzakis scored 11 points in less than 9 minutes - all of them in a second quarter in which Olympiacos broke the game open. Canaan fired in 6 of 9 three-point shots on his way to a season-best 20 points.

"Credit to the coaching staff, of course. they do the job and put the pieces in the puzzle. We just follow the instructions and the rules, and everything we have to do on the court," Papanikolaou said after the game. "But I believe this team, this season, enjoys winning games, and they don't care who is going to score the ball. Today it is going to be me or Isaiah, next game could be Sasha \[Vezenkov\], or Sloukas, who we missed today."

Olympiacos leaned on next-man-up mentality to win in Istanbul

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v Olympiacos Piraeus (2023-01-31T17:45:00.000Z)

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade was clicking on all cylinders on Tuesday night in 92-71 beating of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. Kevin Punter led the offense with 22 points in 21 minutes, and the team had four scorers in double figures, but also each of the 11 players who entered the game scored at least 3 points.

Partizan led by 29 points late in the third quarter before the team's main protagonists went to the bench. When it all ended, four players finished with a PIR of 20 or higher.

Punter's performance index rating was 24, Zach LeDay and Mathias Lessort each had 21, and Dante Exum finished with a PIR of 20.

Partizan became only the second team this season with four different players having a PIR of 20 or more in a non-overtime game. The other one was Olympiacos Piraeus in its 90-80 win over Zalgiris in Round 2.

The EuroLeague record for number of different players with a PIR of 20 or higher is five, accomplished by four different teams, but not since the 2007-08 season.

Partizan found rare balance in rout of ASVEL

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade v LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (2023-01-31T19:30:00.000Z)

Missing influential captain Bojan Dubljevic through injury, Valencia Basket must have wondered where the input was going to come from before its 82-73 home win over in-form FC Bayern Munich, which had won four of its last five games prior.

In the end, an unlikely trio led the way and some of the regulars also stepped up to give the Spanish side a club-record fifth successive win in the EuroLeague, boosting its hopes of making the playoffs.

Klemen Prepelic, who had struggled most of the season, came off the bench to post 10 points in 15:43 minutes on the court and nailed a three-pointer followed by a steal and a tough three-point play early in the fourth quarter during a 28-7 Valencia streak.

Shannon Evans, who joined Valencia from fellow Spanish League rival Real Betis a couple of weeks ago, shined on his debut in Europe’s premier club competition with 9 points and 4 assists, shooting 3 of 4 from three-point range.

Crucially, one of those shots came on the buzzer at the end of the third quarter and found its way into the bucket off the glass, giving Valencia a 61-56 lead after which the hosts never looked back.

Jonah Radebaugh provided the icing on the cake with his EuroLeague record of 14 points, coupled with 5 rebounds and as many assists. In addition, Chris Jones posted 11 points and Xabi Lopez-Arostegui added 10, underlining a smooth team effort that improved Valencia’s record to 12-10.

Radebaugh stressed blending had paid dividends for Valencia in the last month or so.

"We are starting to figure each other out a little bit more and we’re playing more as a team, not so much as individual basketball," he said. "It shows out there, that’s why we are winning games."

Valencia drew inspiration from unlikely sources

Valencia Basket v FC Bayern Munich (2023-01-31T19:30:00.000Z)

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade dominated in a 92-71 win over visiting LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne on both the offensive and defensive ends. Coach Zeljko Obradovic's men scored 50 first-half points on 65.0% two-point shooting and 50.0% from three-point range, while also taking care of the basketball, with only 2 turnovers before halftime.

But with all the rhythm on offense, it was Partizans's aggressive defense that set the tone from the start. The hosts forced 17 turnovers, and scored 21 points off those, mostly on a fast break. In addition, for the second game in a row, Partizan had more steals (11) than it committed turnovers (7).

"That's what we will insist on keep on doing \[moving forward\]", Obradovic pointed out after the game.

Aggressive Partizan too much for ASVEL

Olympiacos Piraeus sent a message that echoed all around the competition by downing Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 72-92 in Round 22. The Reds three-point shooting accuracy allowed them to dominate.

Olympiacos fired in 17 of 29 shots from beyond the arc. Those 17 three-point shots made marked the team's second-best mark in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague this season. It made 18 in a 117-71 home win against Virtus Segafredo Bologna in Round 12. Isaiah Canaan fired in 6 of 9 three-point shots and team captain Kostas Papanikolaou sank all 3 of his attempts from beyond the arc at Ulker Sports and Event Hall.

The Reds buried 9 of their opening 12 three-point shots to build a 16-46 lead that allowed Coach Georgios Bartzokas's team to keep a double-digit margin until the final buzzer. Fenerbahce made just 12 of 36 three-point shots (33.3%). Olympiacos also shared the ball better, finishing the game with 21 assists and 14 turnovers. Fenerbahce had fewer turnovers, 13, but also fewer assists, 16.

Olympiacos won it from beyond the arc 

Virtus Segafredo Bologna brought out its best basketball in Round 22 to beat Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 84-72 at home. It also set a club record for assists in a game.

Virtus finished the game with 28 assists. Its previous record was 26 assists against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Round 16 earlier this season. Virtus also committed just 11 turnovers for an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.55. Superstar guard Milos Teodosic contributed to this record more than anyone else, finishing the game with 9 assists and just 2 turnovers.

On the other hand, Zvezda had 15 assists and and 14 turnovers. That's an assist-to-turnovers ratio of 1.07. Sharing the ball better allowed Virtus to have better shot selection. Virtus made 56.8% of its two-point shots and 33.3% from beyond the arc. Despite not being outstanding numbers, they were definitely better than Zvezda's shooting percentages (47.4% 2FG, 27.3% 3FG) and that made the difference in the game.

Virtus set assists record 

Virtus Segafredo Bologna v Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (2023-01-31T20:00:00.000Z)

Bayern head coach Andrea Trinchieri was livid with his team dropping its guard late in the third and early in the fourth quarter in an 82-73 loss at Valencia. The Italian coach threw diplomacy to the wind as he described how he felt about a lack of energy during a 5-minute spell that saw Valencia open up an unassailable 17-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

"The thing is, our one-on-one defense was close to pornography," he said in a courtside interview after the game. "It’s something that I didn’t expect and the game became very complicated. We had turnovers, we were slow, and after that, every Valencia move was five meters of separation and you cannot play basketball like that."

Bayern was on an even keel with Valencia in a low-scoring first half and even looked the slightly more likely winner midway through the third quarter when the visitors were 51-47 ahead.

However, they caved in after Shannon Evans nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer off the glass at the end of the third period and Trinchieri later acknowledged at the post-game press conference it was the game's pivotal moment: "It happens, especially in Valencia. That last shot by Evans like took the lid off the rim and everything started falling in. In 3 minutes we were down by 15 and then it’s a different game."

Bayern’s effort was not helped by January’s EuroLeague player of the month Augustine Rubit posting only 3 points, shooting 1 of 6 from the floor, which left Cassius Winston (22 points) and Niels Giffey (14 points) as the team’s only performers in double figures.

In total, Bayern only made 18 of 37 shots from inside the arc and 8 f 21 from three-point range, having also trailed in rebounding (34-30) and assists (19-14). Bayern only committed 9 turnovers to Valencia’s 10, but the visiting team’s turnovers were far more damaging as several of them came during that 5-minute spell which meant lights out for the visiting outfit.

Trinchieri furious with Bayern's late collapse 

### Saras Jasikevicius, FC Barcelona head coach

"This is obvious that this was the key \[being better on defense in the fourth quarter\]. I thought we were a little bit more physical, a little smarter. Change the defense a little a bit, maybe I should have changed the defense a little bit earlier, I don't know. But, I think it's important to win these games, only if we learn from them. I thought for the majority of the game, Maccabi was playing Barca basketball: very patient, looking for the open man, controlling the rebounds, everything. Great basketball. And then we did that in the fourth quarter, so hat's off to the fellas. They really dug deep and found a way to win. It's very important \[to react\]. Like I said earlier, it's a game where a lot of things were going against us and we managed to win, so we'll take that. But, in 48 hours, there's another game against a very tough team \[FC Bayern Munich\], and we have to be better."

 

### Oded Kattash, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv head coach

"In the fourth quarter, that was unbelievable. We put the right amount of effort, but it's tough to win like that. That's really tough. It's really tough to win like that."

### Cory Higgins, FC Barcelona guard

"They're a physical team. We didn't respond well in the first half, but we had a good reaction when it was time to win the game. Thankfully we got the win. These wins always build character. I liked how we stuck together in the tough moments; we weren’t really playing together in the first half, so I think that was the main thing for us. And happy birthday to my dad! A living legend."

### Rokas Jokubaitis, FC Barcelona guard

"We didn’t play good. The most important thing is the win. How we played in the third quarter, we lost by a lot of points. In the fourth quarter, we felt the fans, we played great defense. We have a win, we didn’t play our best basketball and we have to step it up, but the win is the most important thing right now. In two days, we have an even more difficult game against Bayern; we always struggle against them, so it will be a difficult game, but we're ready to fight. We're ready to beat them in Palau \[Blaugrana\]."