Baskonia took a road less traveled to victory
Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz is accustomed to breaking down its opponents with a fast-flowing offense, but it was a massive defensive effort that carried the Spanish side to a lifeline 93-87 home win over ALBA Berlin on Tuesday.
Trailing 44-48 at halftime, Baskonia stifled out ALBA in the second half and forced a furry of mistakes by the visitors, which ended the contest with 14 turnovers - 4 more than the home side.
Baskonia was also efficient from the foul line, having made 24 of 30 free throws while the visitors netted 9 of 11. Relentless half-court pressure in the second half drew a barrage of tough shots from ALBA, which finished on 12 of 33 from three-point range. Some of those shots only came through in the last minute of the game, which was only enough to keep the deficit down.
Crucially, Baskonia sank 24 of 39 shots from inside the arc while ALBA was 21 of 38 on two-pointers, with the two sides dishing out 21 assists each. They were also pretty evenly matched in rebounds, as Baskonia racked up 37 boards – one more than ALBA.
In the end, it came down to gritty defending which propelled a 9-0 Baskonia run in the closing stages, turning an 80-81 deficit into an 8-point lead for the home side, which then closed out the contest.