Partizan easily defeated Igokea in the ABA League quarterfinal series by 94:85, taking a 1-0 lead ahead of the next game in Laktasi.
P.J. Dozier was absent from the black and white lineup, as he has been in the process of recovering from an injury for some time. On one side, Danilo Andjusic and Uros Trifunovic didn’t get any minutes, while on the other side, Dragan Milosavljevic didn’t play.
The black and whites started the game with five straight points, but Jackie Carmichael had a ready response, keeping his team in the game. Partizan struggled to find the right offensive rhythm, which Mario Nakic took advantage of, narrowing Igokea’s deficit to just four points before the first break – 27:24.
With points from Kevin Punter and Bruno Caboclo, the black and whites hinted at a better performance in the second quarter, but things didn’t go as expected. Whenever Partizan built a double-digit lead, the spirited Nakic appeared to mitigate the visiting team’s deficit. The halftime score was 54:45 in favor of Partizan.
Teamwork makes the dream work 👌
— AdmiralBet ABA League (@ABA_League) April 17, 2024
Željko Obradović must've loved to see this kind of teamwork, everyone got a touch + no dribbles 🔥@PartizanBC #ABAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/GI2l4S5dhl