Barcelona defeated Olympiacos on their home court by 77:69 in the second game of the EuroLeague quarterfinals.
The home team was at full strength, while the guests were without Kostas Papanikolaou and Michalis Lountzis.
Roger Grimau decided to start with Ricky Rubio in the lineup, and it was evident that the plan was to speed up the game as much as possible. The guests resisted such tactical ideas from the Spanish coach, mainly thanks to Alec Peters, who opened the game well with two three-pointers. There was also a setback for Barcelona as Rubio got injured, but it coincided with a period of excellent play by the Catalans. Jabari Parker and Willy Hernangomez entered a streak, bringing Barcelona to a dominant 27:14 lead after the first 10 minutes.
However, in the second quarter, the home team started to struggle with organizing their offense, which Olympiacos capitalized on. Through Shaquielle McKissic’s individual efforts and transition points, they narrowed the gap to minus four. Then, Nikola Kalinic hit an extremely difficult three-pointer, after which Barcelona disrupted the Reds’ offense with a zone press and zone defense, reclaiming an 11-point lead. The team of Georgios Bartzokas remained composed and approached within six points before halftime.
BARCELONA – OLYMPIACOS 77:69 (27:14, 16:23, 17:20, 17:12)
Venue: “Palau Blaugrana,” Barcelona
Referees: Radovic, Paternico, Nikolic
Barcelona: Da Silva, Vesely 10, Brizuela, Rubio, Kalinic 5, Satoransky 7, Hernangomez 11, Laprovittola 5, Abrines 9, Parker 24, Nnaji, Jokubaitis 6.
Olympiacos: Walkup 7, Williams-Goss 10, Wright 6, Canaan 2, Larentzakis, Fall 3, Brazdeikis, Peters 20, Petrusev 6, Milutinov, Sikma 5, McKissic 10.