Darío Brizuela is having a week to remember. After hitting the game-winner with a three-pointer for Barcelona in Málaga on Sunday, the shooting guard repeated his heroics on Thursday at Sofia's Arena 8888, where Hapoel plays as the home team: a go-ahead basket with five seconds remaining and 18 points in the second half to secure a crucial victory in the EuroLeague's upper tier battle.
https://youtu.be/uN76Sw66IvA?si=rUqS3RUC3hKkKgoc
Poor Start and Halftime Tie
Barcelona started with defensive struggles. Vasilije Mićić ran the Hapoel offense with ease, and the Israelis opened up a 16-6 lead midway through the first quarter, with the Blaugrana missing all eight of their three-point attempts in that stretch. Justin Robinson and Kevin Punter kept Aleksander Sekulić's squad afloat, closing the quarter down just two points (21-19). In the second quarter, Chimezie Nebo's dominance on the offensive glass and Robinson's 15 points before halftime tied the game (46-46).
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The Brizuela Run
After halftime, Mićić and Bryant struck again, Barcelona picked up early fouls and Hapoel opened a nine-point lead (58-49). That's when Brizuela appeared. The shooting guard scored 12 straight points as part of a 0-16 Barcelona run that flipped the scoreboard (60-69), and Barcelona entered the fourth quarter up nine (64-73).
A Tight Finish
Hapoel didn't give up. Through free throws they kept chipping away at the deficit, while Barcelona lost Joel Parra and Robinson to fouls. Bryant and Mićić, Hapoel's best with 25 and 24 points respectively, left the score at 90-91 with 28 seconds remaining. On Barcelona's final possession, Brizuela ran down the clock and scored with five seconds left. Mićić had a three-pointer to force overtime, but it didn't fall.