FC Barcelona took third place at the 2022 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four thanks to an 84-74 win over Olympiacos Piraeus.
Barca turns back Reds, 84-74, for third place
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Barcelona led much of the game and was ahead by as many 15 points, 57-42, midway through the third quarter, but had to resist several comeback attempts by Olympiacos, which got within 68-65 midway throughout the final one. Nikola Mirotic, Cory Higgins and Nick Calathes came up big right after the timeout that followed, returning Barcelona to a dominant position that it never abandoned. Mirotic led all Barcelona scorers with 19 points. Sertac Sanli followed with 16 while Higgins and Brandon Davies provided 11 and 10, respectively, for the winners. Nick Calathes came close to a triple-double by contributing 13 assists, 9 points and 8 rebounds. Combined with his 9 assists from the semifinals, he set a Final Four record with 22 assists in two games. Sasha Vezenkov paced Olympiacos by posting 20 points and 11 boards. Kostas Sloukas added 14 points and 7 assists, while Shaquielle McKissic scored 11 points and Tyler Dorsey poured in 10 in the losing effort.
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Mirotic and Dorsey swapped baskets in the first two possessions of the game, but Barcelona was the first team to find offensive momentum. An 8-0 run in which four different players scored granted Barcelona an early 10-2 lead after 4 minutes. Dorsey revived Olympiacos and Thomas Walkup showed up from deep to bring the Reds within 10-7. Even though Sanli soon replied from the same place and Higgins banked a short jumper, Vezenkov took the reins on offense to reduce Olympiacos's disadvantage to 15-13. The rally was cut short, though, as Dante Exum contributed a three-point and Higgins added a basket that helped Barcelona retain a 20-15 edge after 10 minutes.
Another strong start lifted Barcelona's advantage to 28-22 with Brandon Davies and Rokas Jokubaitis combining for 8 points. Nobody else joined in, though, so Olympiacos got back in the game quite quickly. McKissic sparked the flame first, then Giannoulis Larentzakis and Sloukas followed to fill a 2-9 run that put the Reds in charge for the first time, 30-31, midway through the second quarter. Olyimpiacos kept scoring through its backcourt to hold a short margin, 35-36, which temporarily suffocated the fire Alex Abrines tried to start for Barcelona from beyond the arc. Sanli came on to help Abrines, contributing a bucket and a triple that Abrines followed with another bomb to make it 43-38. A couple of free throws by Calathes closed the first half with Barcelona in command, 45-38.
Abrines provided a dunk off a steal, then Sanli and Mirotic followed him with back-to-back triples that built a double-digit margin for Barcelona, 53-42, early in the third quarter. Mirotic made it even worse for the Reds with an inside bucket, while Laprovittola extended the difference to 57-42 after 24 minutes. Dorsey and Walkup stopped the bleeding for Olympiacos with free throws, but the Reds needed more than 4 minutes to score a single field goal. As such, Barcelona found no trouble in keeping the Reds under control, 60-46. Vezenkov came to rescue then, going for a three-pointer, a three-point play and a layup that changed the momentum at 62-54, raising the Olympiacos fans to their feet. Barcelona looked frozen against the Reds defense as Sloukas joined in later to bring Olympiacos within 62-56 entering the last stanza.
Higgins tried to cool down the Reds with a corner jumper to open the fourth quarter, but the Olympiacos defense was already geared up. Vezenkov and McKissic trimmed the difference to 64-60 before Calathes and Mirotic took over on the offensive side to rebuild a 68-60 Barcelona edge. It was not all said and done for the Reds, though. Sloukas drilled a three and McKissic followed with a monster fastbreak slam to force Barcelona to call timeout at 68-65 with 4 minutes remaining. However, a 7-1 run sparked by Mirotic right after that pushed Barcelona to a 75-66 margin, which looked like a final blow for the Reds. Walkup and Vezenkov tried to delay the outcome with a three-pointer and a free throw, respectively, but that couldn't stop Barcelona from following the winning path. Sanli and Mirotic hit from inside, Higgins secured a couple of free throws and Calathes capped the offensive charge with a triple that sealed the win, 84-74.