Many are the quality players of Barça, many of its stars, and little can be done when several of them have a good night. It was exactly what was found, and allowed, a Red Star unable to stop Mirotic and Davies or intimidate Calathes and Jokubaitis. The Serbs were much inferior during the game but gritted their teeth at the end, with an omnipresent Ivanovic. Exum, in the final minutes, secured the victory.
Yes the losses They were Barça’s main problem in Kaunas (until 22) They continued to be a headache at the beginning against Red Star. Four in a row (Mirotic, Smits, Laprovittola, Calathes) put the Serbs ahead, very quick with their hands, before Mirotic broke the bad Barça dynamic. Triple, mate and tied game (13-13). The Hispano-Montenegrin, with the complicity of Calathes, was far superior to his rivals.
Barça severely limited Estrella Roja’s offensive options, one of the worst shooters in the competition, while he nevertheless dominated almost all the records in attack. A manifest superiority in both hoops that raised the distance above ten points (31-17). Jokubaitis connected well with Davies and Kuric started scoring from three. The Red Star, simply, did not have an answer: they were a few more spectators at the Barça recital in the second quarter.
The magnificent part was led by Jokubaitis. The performance of the Lithuanian is no longer a surprise, without a mistake in the shot, but it is that he played perhaps his best minutes since he dressed as a Barça player. He scored, directed and enabled his teammates, amplifying Davies’ numbers. The pivot was also fantastic, successful from mid-range and perfectly reading the movements of his defenders. Some errors, at the end of the break, limited the Barça advantage (47-32).
Barça continued to be very comfortable after the break, now with the first unit on the court, with their multiple options in each attack. Mirotic did not stop scoring while Calathes continued to play at will. When the distance moved away from 20 points, Jasikevicius spurred on his team. The partial of the third quarter, in fact, was favorable to Red Star.
From the 25th minute the Serbs were much more comfortable on the court, able to get around the Barça defense and run on the counterattack. Barça lowered the intensity one point behind and Ivanovic made them pay: after many minutes, the advantage dropped from two figures (71-63). The victory was not in danger thanks to Exum who, in a splendid quarter, closed the match.