The two FC Barcelona players combined for 29 points on what turned out to be a comfortable night for the hosts.
Jabari Parker, Oriol Pauli surprised Panathinaikos
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 6 of 34
Group Regular Season
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FC Barcelona beat Panathinaikos Athens 80-72 at Palau Blaugrana in Round 6 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season, with Jabari Parker and Oriol Pauli shining in particular for the Blaugrana. On a night when the hosts led 75-47 a couple of minutes into the final frame, they were able to seal the outcome long before the final buzzer.
Both teams were without two elite guards in this game, as Barca missed Nico Laprovittola and Rokas Jokubaitis while Panathinaikos traveled to Spain without Kostas Sloukas and Luca Vildoza. As such, the Greens opted to play Jerian Grant for over 32 minutes. Meanwhile, Barca head coach Roger Grimau got creative and opted to use forward Pauli as a point guard.
Oriol Pauli became Barca's joker card
It was not a new situation for Pauli, who occasionally played point guard for Dreamland Gran Canaria and MoraBanc Andorra in the past. Pauli made things happen early in the second quarter, scoring 6 points in an 8-0 run after Panathinaikos got within 23-22. That spurt of offense helped put Barca on the right track, and he was the first player to reach double digits as he climbed to 10 points.
When Pauli cooled off, Barca found a new go-to guy in Jabari Parker, who found his first points midway through the second quarter. At halftime, Parker had 8 points on 4-of-4 shots inside the arc, allowing his team to get a double-digit lead, 45-33, at the interval.
Jabari Parker led the way in the third
Parker remained unstoppable throughout the third quarter, providing a highlight with a big dunk off the baseline and giving Barca the right energy and offensive inspiration to break the game open. By the time Parker scored his 15th point in 13 minutes on the floor, Barca had a 66-45 lead.
Panathinaikos never gave up, but it only rallied once the outcome was clear. Pauli finished the game with 12 points, one shy of his career-high effort, which came at Palau Blaugrana but during his time playing for Gran Canaria on March 19, 2019. As for Parker, he had 17 points on 7-of-10 two-pointers, 5 rebounds and a PIR of 17.
When asked about his adjustment to European basketball, Parker said his team made things easier. "From the very get-go, I think it is just the game of basketball that I have been playing all my life," Parker commented. "And it is easy when you got guys like that on the team, it makes my job easier."
Above all, Barca showed its impressive depth, getting 47 bench points in this game. Barca is 3-0 at Palau Blaugrana so far this season and next week it hosts Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade in what should be another mouth-watering fixture.
