FC Barcelona was knocked out of its offensive rhythm in defeat against FC Bayern Munich in Game 2 last Friday, but the Spanish team put on an offensive clinic to regain control of the series in the first half of Wednesday's 66-75 road victory.
Telling numbers: Barca fixed turnover problems in Game 3
The number that most concerned Barca coach Sarunas Jasikevicius following Friday's defeat was the 16 turnovers his team had committed against Bayern's stern defense. On this occasion, however, Barca rose to the challenge and did a much better job of looking after the ball, not committing any turnovers at all until just over 3 minutes remained in the first half.
By that time, Barca had already registered 10 assists and were enjoying a healthy 17-point lead, 26-43. A few minutes later, the Spanish side was up 31-49 at half-time after a remarkably efficient opening two quarters. Within those 20 minutes, the visitors had made 12 of 18 two-point attempts (66.7%), 5 of 11 from long range (45.5%), and 10 of 11 free throws (90.9%).
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Barca's offense wasn't as good in the second half, as the game tightened up, but by then, the damage had already been done. The visitors finished with 17 assists and 10 turnovers, with the most impressive ratio belonging to none other than the all-time EuroLeague assists leader, Nick Calathes, who dished 8 on the night to just 1 turnover.
Ultimately, Jasikevicius's men responded to a sloppy performance in Game 2 to reassert their dominance and move one win away from another Final Four appearance.