Davies leads Barça's first attack on Bayern

• Direct Narration and Statistics

It was not exactly a walk, but Barça struck first in their quarterfinal playoff against Bayern.

The azulgrana prevailed 77-67 thanks to a full-fledged exhibition by

(19 points, PIR of 24) and the flashes of quality from

(12 points, PIR of 18) capable of signing vertiginous dunks .

The Germans tried to fight until the end, clinging especially to the talent of

(20 points), but ended up kneeling before a rival who knew how to correct his mistakes in time.

Bayern surprised Barça in the early stages of the duel thanks to their defensive intensity and tremendous accuracy on three-pointers, with four hits in their first six attempts.

,

and

had a lot to do with that visiting start

.

The azulgrana, however, despite coming to see nine points behind in the light (13-22) managed to stand in the second period only two away (20-22) thanks mainly to the irruption of a Davies who would ultimately be the main protagonist of the next ten minutes of the match.

The contribution of the player from Philadelphia, together with the decisive appearance of

in some moments of the second quarter, was what allowed Barça to turn the situation around with a 23-11 run that allowed them to go into the break ten points for up on the scoreboard (33-23).

A comeback that was also forged, to a large extent, in a considerable improvement at the defensive level of the locals, finally able to stop what, at times, had become an offensive downpour by the visitors in the first quarter.

Bayern's reaction

The German team, far from falling apart like a piece of sugar, stood up seriously after the break.

So much so that he was able to reduce to two points (45-43) an initial Barcelona advantage that had reached 12 thanks, fundamentally, to the good work of Hilliard, who would leave the locker room very soon due to injury in the last period.

The azulgrana, however, knew how to react in time again, especially thanks to Davies, with glimpses of Mirotic, Calathes and, of course, Exum, to stand in the last quarter with an advantage apparently more than enough to ensure without many problems the first win of the series (62-51).

Again, however, the story of the third quarter was repeated.

It was of no use to the azulgrana to leave very soon by 14 points in the light.

With the quality of Lucic, protagonist in addition to one of the three consecutive triples that his team would score, Bayern was only five away.

But there would emerge, above all, the figure of

so that the game, finally, did not escape from Barcelona's hands.

The final 77-67 is only the first chapter.

This Thursday, it is time to write the second of a series that, having seen what has been seen, it will be difficult for Barça to finish on the fast track.

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