FC Barcelona got back to winning ways on Tuesday night, downing Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 79-68 at Palau Blaugrana on Tuesday night. Barca took control of the game in the second quarter, during which it held Partizan without a field goal for 9 minutes, before it opened up a double-digit margin in the third en route to a fairly comfortable win. The hosts' record now improves to 6-3, while Partizan drops to 4-5 on the season.
Barca protects home floor against Partizan, 79-68
Nicolas Laprovittola had 13 points and 6 assists for Barca, with Tomas Satoransky also scoring 11 in the victory. Danilo Andjusic paced Partizan with a career-high 21 points in just 17 minutes on the floor, while James Nunnally scored 10 in a losing effort.
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The two teams traded blows early, as Nikola Kalinic and Mike Tobey knocked down a three-pointer apiece for the hosts, before Nunnally sparked Partizan's offense with 7 consecutive points. Then, Dante Exum led a 4-12 spurt, capped with a fastbreak dunk from Zach LeDay that gave Partizan a 15-21 advantage late in the first quarter. That resulted in the hosts significantly stepping up their defensive effort, not allowing a single field goal for 9 minutes. Partizan was getting to the free-throw line, but Barca was taking control of the game. Oscar Da Silva dominated on the boards, and with Laprovitolla and Satoransky chipping in, a 9-0 run helped Barca go into halftime ahead 39-32.
In the third quarter, the margin soon reached double digits after a pair of layups from Kalinic. Andjusic knocked down a pair of triples for the visitors, but Barca made its first 6 two-point shots of the quarter, and a triple apiece from Satoransky and Laprovittola made it a 61-45 game. Partizan stayed in range thanks to Andjusic, but Barca dominated on defense and had a 64-49 lead after three quarters. Alex Abrines increased the gap to 69-52 early in the fourth quarter after draining a three-pointer, but Partizan continued to fight back through Andjusic. With two minutes left, Alen Smailagic saw a triple drop to cut the deficit to 74-66, but that's as close as Barca let the visitors get.