For the second time in four days, a team ranked in the bottom three ambushed the same would-be title contender, showing again that there's no such thing as an easy EuroLeague game.
Against Barca, ALBA proved why every game matters
ALBA Berlin's sublime defensive display in the third quarter was key to grabbing a huge 74-70 victory over FC Barcelona at Mercedes-Benz Arena. Despite sitting bottom of the table coming into Round 15, the German team looked second-place Barca in the eye and demonstrated once again why every game matters in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Coming into Tuesday's clash in Berlin, Barcelona was averaging 84.0 points this season. Yet, ALBA managed to hold the EuroLeague's fifth-best offense to just 70 points, thanks largely to solid defense after intermission, an unexpected achievement from a team that had conceded 86.5 points per game to opponents through the first 14 rounds.
FC Barcelona was dominant in the first quarter, leading 7-19 after 3 minutes, though ALBA bounced back and cut the difference to 38-41 at halftime. That's when the hosts found an extra gear on offense inspired by some hustle plays on defense. ALBA went on a 9-0 run to open the third quarter by seizing a 47-41 and held on despite Barcelona's comeback attempt in crunch time.
"We played a great game, especially on defense," ALBA center Johannes Thiemann said. "At the end, we made our shots. We almost gave it away in the last 2 minutes, but I'm really happy that we've got the win."
In the first half, Barcelona recorded 7 turnovers, but in the third quarter coughed up 6 more, with 4 of those coming on steals by ALBA. The hosts finished with 9 steals total, led by Sterling Brown with 3, and netter 18 points off Barcelona's 14 total turnovers.
"I'm very happy because this is a very good win against such a good team like Barcelona," ALBA head coach Israel Gonzalez stressed after the game. "I think we defended very well, especially in the third quarter, when they had problems scoring. Also, we rebounded well on defense. I think that we took a step forward on defense today, and I'm happy about that."
Indeed, Barcelona scored just 11 points in the third quarter, when ALBA managed 18. At game's end, ALBA had forced the visitors into just 25.0% shooting from behind the arc (6-for-24) despite Barcelona having ranked third in this category (38.1%) in the first 14 rounds.
Matt Thomas, who scored a team-high 13 points for ALBA and had 2 of his team's 9 steals, believes his teammates are showing signs what they can do in the future.
"We're just starting to finally build some chemistry," Thomas said post-game. "It's just taking a little longer than everyone wanted. We have a lot of new players in the team this season, and I think that things are slowly starting to click."
Tuesday's victory over Barcelona could definitely serve as a springboard for an ALBA side that won but a single game in the first 11 rounds, but have aced two of four games since then and proven they can cause some trouble if underestimated by opponents.