FC Barcelona was without starting center Jan Vesely in its Round 10 showdown against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in Belgrade, Serbia, but still Barca found ways to be effective in the paint.
James Nnaji stepped up at the right time for Barca
Artículo
3 Min lectura
Regular Season
Round 10 of 34
Group Regular Season
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In his first Turkish Airlines EuroLeague start since joining Barca in the off-season, Willy Hernangomez delivered from the opening tip, getting 5 quick points to put his team on the right track, 9-11. Despite battling foul trouble throughout the game, Hernangomez finished the game with 13 points and matched a EuroLeague career-high with 8 rebounds for a PIR of 12 in less than 19 minutes.
When Hernangomez had to head to the bench, James Nnaji proved he is ready to make the most out of any opportunity. Nnaji did a little bit of everything, even getting a steal, running the floor like a point guard and finishing the play with a wild two-handed slam. From intimidation to rebounding to self-confidence, Nnaji had a career-best night.
He finished the game with a personal-best 11 points on perfect shooting, hitting his 4 two-point attempts and 3 free throws. He added 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 3 fouls drawn for a career-high PIR of 16.
Nnaji fouled out with 3:19 left in the game. Just 12 seconds later, Hernangomez was called for his fifth foul, too. Coach Grimau was forced to use a smaller lineup with Nikola Kalinic at power forward and Oscar Da Silva at center.
Even though Nico Laprovittola made the difference down the stretch, scoring his team's last 5 points, Da Silva came up with the key defensive stop. After Laprovittola missed a free throw with 12.3 seconds left, Lorenzo Brown had a chance to win the game with a three-point shot. Brown forced a pick-and-roll switch to be guarded by da Silva, who contested his opponent's last shot to perfection. Brown missed the shot and Barca won the game.
"It was totally a team effort. Some of our players are missing and we came what we had. And we put our whole energy as a team, and that's why we won: as a team," Nnaji said after the game. "I think playing [good] defense in the last quarter made us win the game."
"We stayed together during the game. We didn't play very good defense but Oscar da Silva made the important defense and we go home with a victory," Laprovittola said. "We needed this victory for our confidence. We have a lot of things to improve but if you win, you look better."
Maccabi finished the game with a team PIR of 102, much higher than Barca, which had a PIR of 87. Blocked shots and fewer fouls committed allowed Maccabi to get a higher PIR but in the end, Barca went back home with its eighth victory.