Youssoupha Fall and Juan Nunez paved the win to a big victory
Barcelona found new go-to guys in Round 22 win over Efes
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Regular Season
Round 22 of 34
Group Regular Season
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FC Barcelona overcame a slow start to beat Anadolu Efes Istanbul 90-80 at home in Round 22. A balanced offense, good hustle and great efficiency inside the rim allowed Barca to grab its 13th win and remain in playoff territory.
Barca had 6 players in double figures. Kevin Punter led the way with 15 points. Its three centers made the difference in the paint, as Chimezie Metu, Jan Vesely and Youssoupha Fall all scored in double digits, with the three big men combining for 34 points on 16-of.18 two-pointers (87.5% 2FG). Fall was the first player in the game to reach double digits, and all three made sure Barca always had a reliable scoring reference in the paint.
All of them allowed Barcelona to finish the game with a 72.5% two-point shooting percentage, hitting 29-of-40 attempts inside the arc. It is Barca's best two-point shooting percentage this season: its highest until now was 66.7% in Round 11 against FC Bayern Munich. The club's all-time record came in a 90-66 home win against Rytas Vilnius on November 22, 2012, hitting 27-of-33 two-pointers (81.8% 2FG).
Juan Nunez did not set any career high but had arguably his best game of the season with a truly all-around performance. He finished the game with 11 points on 5-of-6 two-pointers, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, a steal, no turnovers and a PIR of 17.
The Spanish guard helped Barca finish the game with 29 assists, a new season high- It previously had 27 assists in Round 2 against ALBA Berlin. Efes had 18 assists and as many as 14 turnovers. Barca also won the battle of the boards, outrebounding Efes 30-21.
After the game, Nunez highlighted Barca's defense as the biggest key to this victory, and pointed to the club's next immediate goal.
"Efes is a great team. They have great talents but we played great defense. I think they scored 80 points which for us is really important. We have to keep that mentality in defense," Nunez said. "My performance is not the important thing. It's about winning on Sunday and qualifying for the Spanish Cup."