The guards also did their part in an impressive win on the road at Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade.
Barcelona's frontcourt took over at Stark Arena
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In Round 3, FC Barcelona kept its unbeaten record intact by downing Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 83-92 at Stark Arena on Tuesday evening. In particular, its big men were rock-solid, which proved to be one of the keys to the game.
Shooting guard Nico Laprovittola paced the winners with 20 points on 6-of-10 three-pointers, but it was Barca's frontcourt that balanced the team's offense en route to a convincing road win.
Different players stepped up
Oscar Da Silva shined early with 7 quick points, allowing Barca to shake off a slow start and get a good lead, 16-23, at the end of the first quarter. Jan Vesely stepped up after the break, allowing Barca to stop Partizan's first comeback attempt. Jabari Parker and Willy Hernangomez took over soon after that, as Barca ended up sealing the win long before the final buzzer.
Despite battling foul trouble all game long, Hernangomez finished the night with 15 points in less than 17 minutes. Vesely had a strong performance against one of his former teams, getting 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and a PIR of 22. Parker barely missed a double-double with 9 points and 11 rebounds in less than 19 minutes. As for Da Silva, he finished the game with 13 points.
All four of Barca’s frontcourt players combined for 49 points, 25 rebounds and a PIR of 61. Partizan's Zach LeDay, Balsa Koprivica, Alen Smailagic and Frank Kaminsky, meanwhile, combined for 34 points, 13 rebounds and a PIR of 41.
The guards stepped up, too
It was not all frontcourt play, though. When Partizan took a 30-29 lead soon after that, Laprovittola, Alex Abrines, Rokas Jokubaitis and Nikola Kalinic combined for 5 consecutive three-pointers in a 4-15 run that gave Barca a double-digit lead, 34-44, at halftime.
All that balance led to a valuable road win, especially since it was Partizan's first home game and the atmosphere was electric at Stark Arena. After beating Olympiacos Piraeus and Partizan on the road, Barca returns to Palau Blaugrama to face Pablo Laso’s FC Bayern Munich on Friday night.