Barcelona saw off Maccabi Tel Aviv 90:87 in a EuroLeague clash that lived up to its billing on Tuesday evening. The hosts dug in when it mattered most, weathering a second-half surge to keep their European campaign on track. And here's the thing — you could feel the momentum shift twice, and Barcelona answered both times.
Maccabi came out sharp, cutting through the perimeter with eleven 3-pointers before Barcelona matched them with twelve of their own. The visitors' nine steals told you they were trying to force turnovers, and they got twelve to Barcelona's sixteen. To be fair, the away end never stopped, but Barcelona's twenty offensive rebounds kept them in the fight.
The game turned when Barcelona stopped chasing and started controlling. They hit nineteen of twenty-two free throws in the closing stages while Maccabi managed fifteen of seventeen. The extra possession from offensive boards made the difference — eleven to eight, and those extra shots found the net when it counted.
We'd tipped Maccabi at 72 per cent confidence before kick-off. By then the visitors had won three of their last five, including a comfortable 120:93 over Hapoel Galil Elyon. Barcelona hadn't won since beating Valencia 89:86, but this time they held their nerve instead of crumbling under pressure.
The statistics tell the story if you look past the scoreline. Barcelona shot 30 from 56 while Maccabi managed 30 from 61 — same output, different efficiency. One mistake ends it, and Maccabi's seventeen personal fouls to Barcelona's twenty-five meant more free throw opportunities in the dying minutes.
Barcelona move into ninth place on 42 points from 39 games. Maccabi drop to twelfth with 36 points from 39 matches. The gap between them widens, and Barcelona fancy their chances of closing the season strong after showing exactly that tonight.
