By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The duo of Malcolm Delaney and Kyle Kuric scored 21 points each, as FC Barcelona got the 90-72 win over Zenit St. Petersburg. Nikola Mirotic added 15 points for the winning side, which is still tied in the second place of the standings with CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid, as all of them share a 16-6 record.
“I like the way we play, we shared the ball, got stops when we needed to, we played our style of basketball”, said Delaney. “We control what we can control, we don’t really look at anything else. If we keep winning, we control our own destiny and that’s what it’s all about.”
After a tied first quarter (21-21), Barcelona got a 53-35 halftime lead and never looked back, cruising until the final buzzer. Both Kuric and Delaney scored 18 points each in the first half.
The only bad news for Barcelona is that Mirotic left the game feeling discomfort in the groin after 17 minutes of action. On the other hand, Thomas Heurtel made his season debut with eight points and seven assists.
Andrew Albicy and Gustavo Ayon scored 16 points each for the losing side, the Mexican center also grabbed 10 rebounds, but they were not factors in the game.
Zenit couldn’t even capitalize on the fact that they got 19 offensive rebounds, shooting just 50% in two-pointers and 31% in threes.
Everything went well
It was a pretty uneventful and pleasant night for Barcelona coach Svetislav Pesic. who said after the game: “I’m happy that Heurtel started to play. He still needs time, no more, no less. Thanks to our excellent second quarter, we improved our defense, we controlled the offensive rebounds as we should. We played excellently in the offense, with 66% in two-point shooting and 59% in three-pointers at the end of the first half, and we won the game. We kept concentration and in the EuroLeague, it’s always difficult to bring the game the way to the place you want to. They played good basketball, with good concepts, like they do every day. We won the game and we are happy.”
Photo credit: EuroLeague