Brizuela Hits Game-Winner at Carpena as Barcelona Stuns Unicaja (89-92)

Unicaja controlled much of the game at home, but the decisive possession fell into the hands of a familiar face at Carpena. With the score 89-87 for the hosts in the final minute, Darío Brizuela rose from beyond the arc and hit the three-pointer that turned the game around. In front of 10,681 spectators, Barcelona claimed its fourth Liga Endesa victory and snapped Unicaja's five-game winning streak across league and BCL play.

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Unicaja dominates the first half

Unicaja came out at a high pace. Kendrick Perry, Cameron Hunt, and David Kravish punished Barcelona's defense in the first quarter (29-25), and Willy Hernangómez, facing his former team, added points from inside. The home advantage reached 12 points in the second quarter, and a Hunt basket at the buzzer left it 54-45 at halftime. Barcelona, without Olek Balcerowski, who suffered a right shoulder injury against Valencia Basket, struggled on the boards and defending the pick-and-roll.

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Parra and Umude bring Barcelona back into the game

After halftime, the script changed. Barcelona won the third quarter 18-27, with three-pointers from Shake Umude and the efficiency of Joel Parra, who finished with 17 points without missing a two-pointer (4 of 4) and 3 of 4 from three. Oumar Nkamhoua added from the free-throw line and Barcelona entered the fourth quarter tied at 72-72.

A back-and-forth finish

The final minutes were an exchange of blows. Tyson Martin chained two baskets to put Barcelona ahead, but Unicaja responded with Hernangómez from the free-throw line and a mid-range basket from Kravish. Hunt tied it at 87 after a steal, and an offensive rebound by Kravish, converted into a basket, made it 89-87 with 55 seconds remaining.

Then Brizuela appeared. His three-pointer gave Barcelona the lead, Kevin Punter extended the advantage to three points from the line, and Perry's final shot missed the rim. Kravish, with 15 points, 8 rebounds, and a rating of 25, was the best performer for Unicaja, which falls to 3-3.