Barcelona overcame a resilient Unicaja (97-91), which showed remarkable fight, securing their sixteenth victory to solidify their position in the top eight of the Liga Endesa.
The Blaugrana side dominated at one point with a maximum lead of 40-22 (min. 14), but the visitors refused to surrender and stayed competitive. It wasn't until the final minutes that Barcelona sealed the victory thanks to a late surge from the duo of Jan Vesely (18 points) and Darío Brizuela (17).
The Málaga squad, which always fought against the odds, even managed to tie at 77 (min. 33). Despite the strong performances from Emil Sulejmanovic (19) and Olek Balcerowski (18), Barcelona's final push left them without energy, suffering their second consecutive loss in the Liga Endesa.
The novelty of Norris, starting and back in league action, was Pascual's bet to match the physicality of the Málaga squad, and the American responded as expected: defense, rebounds, and also points to give the home side the first lead (9-8, min. 5).
With the power forward firing on all cylinders, Barcelona put together a 14-2 run that threatened to blow the game open early (20-10, min. 8), but showed fragility in the paint and Unicaja, despite their early struggles, found success inside to trim the score to 22-17 at the end of the first quarter.
However, that weakness didn't seem to bother Barcelona. Or rather, Brizuela, who against his former team exploded the game with three consecutive three-pointers that sparked five minutes of Barcelona inspiration and an 18-5 run that erased Duarte's efforts, too isolated while the scoreboard began to bleed (40-22, min. 14).
When all seemed lost for the visitors, a timeout from Ibon Navarro changed everything. Until then unrecognizable, Unicaja resurfaced with their most collective version and shifted the doubts to Barcelona. The turnaround was evident in a 7-19 run that tightened the score to 47-41 at halftime, leaving everything wide open.
The halftime break helped Barcelona reset, with Shengelia's tenacity as the banner, but Djedovic, who had already led the Málaga comeback, extended his hot streak. Clyburn, for the home side, and Perry, for the visitors, also wanted to join the exchange with their first points (59-53, min. 25).
Neither team was able to extend their lead nor the other reduce that slim but worrying advantage in a game that entered a very physical phase, with constant interruptions. In that scenario, unexpected allies appeared, such as Hernangómez and Balcerowski on each side, but they also didn't help alter the score (74-69).
Unicaja started the final quarter better and, with two free throws from Duarte, returned the tie to the scoreboard for the first time since the start (77-77, min. 33). In this new scenario, Barcelona responded by relying on their leaders: Brizuela punished again and, alongside an unexpected Vesely, led an 8-0 run that reopened the gap (85-77, min. 35).
The visitors tried to react again, but already without strength after always fighting against the odds. Barcelona controlled the pace, and with a Vesely playing like a three-point shooter and the free throw line, sealed the final 97-91 to complete their perfect week at the Palau Blaugrana.
97 - Barcelona (22+25+27+23): Marcos (5), Punter (11), Parra (8), Norris (10), Hernangómez (4), -starting five-, Vesely (18), Brizuela (17), Satoransky (8), Fall (-), Clyburn (10), Shengelia (6) and Kusturica (-).
91 - Unicaja (17+24+28+22): Perry (10), Kalinosky (8), Barreiro (-), Tillie (5), Balcerowski (18), -starting five-, Audige (-), Webb (-), Díaz (7), Cobbs (-), Djedovic (13), Sulejmanovic (19) and Duarte (11).
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