When it mattered most, FC Barcelona guard Nicolas Laprovittola registered the biggest game of his four-year Turkish Airlines EuroLeague career to walk off with the Game 5 MVP award and walk into his first Final Four.
EuroLeague Playoffs, Game 5 MVP: Nicolas Laprovittola, FC Barcelona
Awards
2 Mins read
In an 81-72 victory over visiting FC Bayern Munich, Laprovittola scored personal-best 26 points, which was nothing less than the second-highest scoring total by a Barca player in the club's 59 playoff games to date. To do that, Laprovittola made 2 of 5 two-point shots, 5 of 7 triples and all 7 of his free throws. He added 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 rebounds while drawing 6 fouls for a performance index rating of 30, another career high. Laprovittola's second MVP of the Round honor in four EuroLeague seasons comes three months after his first one, in Round 26 of the regular season.
The next-best Game 5 performances belonged to Laprovittola's teammate, Nikola Mirotic, and AS Monaco guard Mike James, each with a PIR of 26. Mirotic had 20 points and 5 rebounds in Barca's win over Bayern, while James had 24 points, 10 assists and 4 rebounds in a 94-88 loss against Olympiacos Piraeus. In that same game, Olympiacos guard Shaquielle McKissic posted a PIR of 24 based on his 18 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in just 17 minutes of action, while his teammate Kostas Sloukas had a PIR of 22 after collecting 15 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds in their team's series-clinching victory.