Thomas' Game Winner: Bayern defies fatigue and wins 79-78

After three away games, the Bayern Basketball team ended the toughest week of the season so far the way it started last Sunday night in Berlin - with a win in a BBL top game: This time, Andrea Trinchieri's team, which had returned home just 24 hours earlier, won 79-78 (42:40) against third-place Ludwigsburg in the Audi Dome, which was closed to fans, thanks to a great team effort. With 20-4 points, the FCBB remains at the top of the BBL with Andreas Obst (18) shining as the top scorer.

Against a rested guest, the FCBB had a hard time getting going and Ludwigsburg attacked full-court (7-0/4th). But Bayern accepted the physical challenge (30-15/12th), but also struggled with energy and turnovers early on (30-30/17th). In the final quarter, they pulled away to 73-62 (35th), but the Giants took advantage of Munich's fatigue to lead 76-75 in the final minute. The game winner of this Sunday thriller was scored by Deshaun Thomas with two seconds left.

For Bayern, Hunter and Rivers from the international contingent were on break, along with Hilliard, Radosevic, Sisko and Zipser. They now end 2021 with the conclusion of the EuroLeague first round on Thursday in the Audi Dome against Baskonia, on Sunday in Crailsheim (BBL) as well as in Villeurbanne (Dec. 30th).

Points per game Bayern - Ludwigsburg: 23-15, 19-25, 18-15, 19-23.

Stats: Two-point shooting: 66% (FCBB) // 51% (Ludwigsburg); Three-point shooting: 41% // 44%; Free-throw shooting: 70% // 83%; Rebounds: 30 // 26; Assists: 13 // 14; Turnovers:  15 // 7.

Quotes:

Andrea Trinchieri, headcoach FC Bayern Basketball: "It's always hard against Ludwigsburg and even harder when you come back from eight days on the road. In addition, this was our eighth game in 18 days. That's why I'm very happy with the result. I can analyze all the mistakes, but I don't think that would be useful or efficient at this moment. I just want to congratulate my players that they were able to win, even without a good performance; but that was not possible either. We made only one mistake: we gave our best performance in the second half, in the fourth quarter we were perfect for eight minutes - and then we pulled the plug mentally and had turnover after turnover. That's a sin and bad, but the circumstances we're experiencing, we have to understand. What was great was that Jason George was very helpful today with 17 excellent minutes and a plus-minus of plus ten. (...) We have tons of players out, it's always the same guys that get loaded, so that's why I'm very happy about Jason today. Andy Obst also had a strong game with 18 points and I'm very proud of him because in Belgrade it was tragic with him because he couldn't manage to be useful for the team. But because he is very smart and humble, he came into the game very focused today and had a great performance. (...) I told my players: I don't care how, but the goal is just to win, even with just one point - great, they usually never listen to me like that when I give them tactical things, they forget them quickly. But they didn't forget about the one point and won by a buzzer beater from DT. (...) Deshaun Thomas is a scorer. He can score in many different ways. The good thing is that he can play well on offense and take into account the play before that. He can make 10 mistakes and hit the last shot."  

Andreas Obst: "We made it a little exciting at the end. I think we lacked a bit of energy, strength and concentration, but in the end it's the victory that counts. For a short time, we probably thought that we already had the victory in the bag. But Ludwigsburg has already proven in the last couple of years that you shouldn't write them off, no matter how much time is left on the clock. They play a very aggressive defense with the full-court press, which is already very dangerous. That almost cost us our heads. But the win is there and that was our goal. I'm happy with my performance, but in the end the team's victory is important. Now I can finally put my feet up today. It's been a long week for all of us."

Game recap:

FCBB head coach Andrea Trinchieri initially sent Corey Walden, Nihad Djedovic, Ognjen Jaramaz, Deshaun Thomas and Gavin Schilling into the top duel of the BBL gameday. Ludwigsburg's traditionally strong defense initially put the FCBB into considerable trouble: After three minutes, the Munich team had five turnovers on their account, but still no points. Rubit scored in the fourth minute of the game to make it 7-2 and heralded a 7-0 run (7-7/5th). Munich now defended much better and had adjusted to the pressure of the Swabians and Thomas with a three-pointer took Bayern's first lead (10-9/6th). FCBB played solidly and dominated the boards and Andreas Obst contributed important points for a 23-15 lead after the first quarter.

Bayern played well to start the second quarter. They defended well and the ball ran through the team like clockwork at the front - and a high scoring rate did the rest. Munich went on a 7-0 run to lead 30-15 (12th). The Giants' timeout stopped the FCBB who were completely rattled and went almost five minutes without a basket. Ludwigsburg came back with an impressive 15-0 run and equalized at 30-30 (17th). Obst could be relied on, as he finally sank another three-pointer, his third to make it 34-30. Trinchieri's men committed 12 turnovers in the first half, but were 42-40 ahead after 20 minutes thanks to better shooting.

Ludwigsburg takes lead thanks to 40-year-old Tremmell Darden

Ludwigsburg did what Ludwigsburg does: pressure. Munich gave up the lead, but stayed in it with buckets from Obst and Rubit (49-57/24th). After a timeout, Lucic foudn success for the first time and Jason George contributed an important three-pointer (53-52 Ludwigsburg/28th). With an energetic performance Bayern was suddenly on the spot with the offensive rebound and rewarded themselves with a furious 8-0 run within two minutes - 60-55 after the third quarter.

Thoma shows nerves of steal with two seconds on the clock to win

The Munich team did well to be on its guard against the dangerous and unpleasant giants at every second. Rubit performed under the opponent's basket with formidable timing on the rebound and scored six points in a row - time-out John Patrick (66-59/33rd). The focused defense of Munich was effective and in front, leader Lucic took over (73-62 (35th). The Giants continued to fight for their chance and shortened the lead to 73-67, Trinchieri saw the time for a short breather and calming words (three minutes left). The FCBB's shots now no longer fell with the certainty of the first half and the energy reserves that were clearly running low made themselves felt. Mental strength was needed in this situation when Deshaun Thomas finally stopped the 9-0 run of Ludwigsburg (75-71/ 91 seconds left). Two turnovers later and the Giants took the lead (76-75/ 53 seconds left). Rubit grabbed the offensive rebound and scored to make it 77-76 (35 seconds left), but Ludwigsburg was successful again through Darden (78-77/ 22 seconds left). The ball ran quickly through the ranks and Thomas took the 79-78 lead with nerves of steel. Two seconds were left on the clock, and Darden had the chance to win the game but the ball just missed the target.

(c): Eirich, Stickel