By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Jabari Parker had his highest-scoring EuroLeague game with 21 points as Barcelona beat Olympiacos Piraeus 86 – 78. The Blaugrana, who were without leading scorer and passer Nicolas Laprovittola, registered their third straight win to move to 14 – 6.
Parker shot 3-6 2-pointers and 3-5 on triples while also grabbing four rebounds. Willy Hernangomez contributed 16 points plus five rebounds to Barca’s win, Tomas Satoransky posted 13 points plus five assists and Nikola Kalinic finished with 13 points as well along with four dimes.
“This is a EuroLeague champion-caliber team. They never give up in the games,” Satoransky said on Olympiacos. “We were a bit shorthanded so the ups and downs are normal. But I’m super happy we were able to defend well at the end because the offense didn’t work for us at the end of the game. We were able to win the game. It’s pretty important to keep adding home victories.”
Kalinic and Satoransky were also responsible for the sequence that secured Barca’s win.
With the score 83 – 80 and 40 seconds to play after an Olympiacos comeback from down 15, Kalinic hit the jumper from mid-range as Hernangomez won an offensive foul to give the hosts another possession. Satoransky made the most out of it with a triple that put his team at a winning distance.
“Very close game. Both teams defended really well and had to make tough baskets,” said Barca coach Roger Grimau. “I think we’re improving. It’s hard sometimes because you don’t have time to practice with too many games but I’m happy with the wins we have here at Palau.”
A comeback which was not completed
Alec Peters (22 points) and Nigels Williams-Goss (12 points, five assists) were the only players who scored in double figures from Olympiacos, now 11 – 9. Thanks to some pretty strong defense, the Greek side returned from down 69 – 54 near the end of the third quarter and approached by a shooting distance, 79 – 76 with four minutes to play.
Both teams struggled to score the ball in the following minutes, as Olympiacos, in particular, missed some solid chances to get closer or tie the game. Barca ultimately found the buckets to close the game courtesy of Kalinic and Satoransky.
“We came back in the game and we had three times the opportunities to tie the score with wide-open shots,” Olympiacos coach Giorgos Bartzokas said. “We missed all of them and that was crucial.”