Drama at the line, Barça fortunate: Bayern lose 74-75

Fought so hard and battled back, but the final shot just wouldn’t drop: FC Bayern Basketball lost 74-75 (32-43) to FC Barcelona on EuroLeague Game Day 10. Dinwiddie – joint top scorer with da Silva at 17 points – missed his second free throw in the final second, which would have sent the game to overtime. In front of 11,500 fans, it was ultimately Barça’s slightly better three-point shooting that made the difference.

Bayern now stand at 5-5 in the EuroLeague and face an unprecedented stretch of seven consecutive away games, starting with the clash in Antalya against Efes Istanbul. The next home game at the SAP Garden is on December 23 against league leaders Hapoel. Less than 48 hours after Efes, Sunday’s game in Trier will be crucial for a spot in the German Cup Top Four.

Full Boxscore

Parker Coaches for Herbert

With head coach Gordie Herbert calling in sick this morning, TJ Parker took over coaching duties. Voigtmann (load management), Baldwin, and Hollatz (both muscular issues) were unavailable, but young father Giffey returned to the squad.

Despite some turnovers, Bayern seemed to gain control through their defense, with six points from Dinwiddie making it 12-8 (7’). However, forced plays disrupted their flow, while Barça scored reliably in the post and through playmaker Laprovittola—19-29 (13’) after a 0-9 run. Barcelona calmly created better shots (62% FG at halftime) and took a deserved lead into the break.

Dinwiddie and Obst Out of Luck

A burst of energy was desperately needed—five quick points, Mike’s first basket, and da Silva’s alertness under the rim were a good start (44-50/24’). When Lucic and Jessup hit from outside to tie it at 52-52, the arena was rocking.

Barça led 61-57 heading into the final quarter, but Bayern closed the gap to just one in the SAP Garden atmosphere (63-64/34’). But a missed three here, a made one there, and the lead just wouldn’t come. Obst again in transition, 73-74, and once more the world champion—looked in, but rattled out, and the rebound slipped away. Bayern truly deserved overtime, but Barça escaped with a bit of luck.

Quotes:

TJ Parker, Coach FC Bayern Basketball:“In the first half, we didn’t play the way we needed to. We lacked intensity, especially on defense, and conceding 43 points by halftime is far too much. Offensively, the ball movement stalled too often, we had only two assists. In the second half, we showed who we are. We played with intensity and had good defense. And Andi Obst will take that shot day and night—the last ball just didn’t go in, and then Spencer’s free throw—it just wasn’t meant to be today. (…) Gordie is sick, maybe we’ll see him tomorrow, we’ll have to wait and see. With our injured players, we’re taking it day by day. (…) Oscar is playing with great confidence, especially at the five. He’s hard to stop there because he moves so quickly. He’s also done well at the four, but we’re using him at the five now.”

Oscar Da Silva: “It obviously didn’t help that we dug ourselves such a hole in the first half, but we fought back well. We had every chance in the second half to turn it around. Andi’s three at the end really hurts—it bounced around the rim five times and then popped out. Then Lucic lost the ball in really unlucky fashion. And there were a few moments like that today. (…) Sometimes it takes us a bit to adjust to the opponent, to find a rotation that works. At halftime, the right words are always found and we pull ourselves together, because we want to win these games—especially at home.”