FC Barcelona never trailed and led by as many as 25 en route to an 84-71 victory over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne on Thursday night at Palau Blaugrana. Nicolas Laprovittola scored 12 of his team-high 20 points in the third quarter to help the hosts put the game away early.
Barcelona cruises by ASVEL, 84-71
Nikola Mirotic added 16 points and 7 rebounds and Brandon Davies scored 11 for Barcelona, which improved to 17-5 on the season. Youssoupha Fall paced ASVEL with 20 points and 7 rebounds and Elie Okobo tallied 17 points and 8 assists in defeat. The result dropped ASVEL’s record to 9-13.
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Barcelona won the opening tip and promptly took the lead on a Mirotic triple. James Gist got the visitors’ first bucket. After a layup by Mirotic and 5 quick points from Laprovittola, ASVEL called timeout trailing 10-2. Charles Kahudi tried to get ASVEL going with a pair of free throws, but another three by Laprovittola extended the margin to 9. Chris Jones and Okobo helped ASVEL climb within 13-9. Mirotic and Davies, who went coast to coast after a Mirotic block, gave the hosts some breathing room. Fall made an impact off the ASVEL bench with 4 points before he was whistled for an unsportsmanlike foul on Davies. After the resulting free throws and a Cory Higgins triple, the margin was double figures. Fall scored on consecutive possessions to keep ASVEL within striking distance. A jumper by Rokas Jokubaitis made it 28-17 after 10 minutes.
ASVEL committed 4 turnovers in the first 3 minutes of the second quarter and after a Jokubaitis steal and layup made it 32-19, the visitors called timeout. Little changed, though, with a turnover on the ensuing possession before Nigel Hayes-Davis netted free throws. Dante Exum’s basket-plus-foul further extended the Barcelona lead. Marcos Knight and Kostas Antetokounmpo kept ASVEL fighting. An Okobo three with 4 minutes left in the half was the visitors’ first triple of the night. His second three whittled the margin to 40-28. Mirotic and Kyle Kuric boosted the Barcelona lead to 45-30 at halftime.
The points were flowing freely from both sides to start the second half. A three by Mirotic and a hook shot by Davies made it 54-35. Fall dunked for ASVEL, but Laprovittola heated up with 7 quick points to take the margin into the 20s. Barcelona had no answer for Fall, who blocked a shot and grabbed an offensive rebound, but Laprovittola’s hot shooting kept the lead rolling to 68-45. Dylan Osetkowski and Okobo trimmed the deficit to 68-50 through three quarters.
Davies and Antetokounmpo traded shots early in the fourth quarter. A three by Okobo, his third of the game, made it 74-57. Dante Exum heated up with a layup, a triple and free throws. A jumper by Higgins made it 84-59 with 5 minutes to play. ASVEL continued to battle and scored the final 12 points of the game, but the outcome was already in the bag.