Embarrassing performance by the home team in the second game of the series. The blaugrana showed no intention to compete for even a minute throughout the second half, against a great Unicaja that strolled through Barcelona in one of the most important games of the season. Barça will play for a spot in the semifinals in a third game in Málaga.
The start of the game was dynamic. Fast plays dominated along with rushed three-point shots, with high percentages from both teams. Jabari Parker made the first three-pointer on the scoreboard, followed by two from Kendrick Perry—Unicaja's skillful and talented point guard. Kevin Punter then hit one just as the game calmed down, after nearly four thrilling minutes played in the first quarter. The next three minutes were more static, with the score balanced, until the Montenegrin Perry came out again to speed up the game. A long-distance three-pointer put his team ahead on the scoreboard. Then, the point guard forced a turnover on defense in the next play, finishing with an easy layup on the fast break. The visitors pulled ahead by four points.
The last three minutes were an ordeal for Barça. They were not very accurate on offense or defense—though things improved slightly with Brizuela's entrance onto the court—and suffered from the attacks of the Malagueños, who took advantage of the home team's weaknesses to score points and widen the gap on the scoreboard. Led by the Frenchman Tillie, the southern team managed to go up by nine points as the buzzer sounded after a disastrous end of the quarter for the home team. (17-26)
The second quarter started better for the culers. Parra made his first three-pointer—a very difficult one—followed by a good shot from Brizuela, although the visitor Djedovic answered with a three-pointer that gave the visitors some breathing room. Punter hit another three on the next play, which energized Peñarroya's men, but the Andalusian onslaught returned to add a 0-7 run. Barça couldn't get close to tying the game. They didn't manage to do so in this quarter. Every slight advantage the blaugrana managed to get was quickly snatched away by a more effective and tactically resourceful Unicaja than the culers. Ibon Navarro has a very well-drilled team. After five minutes of back-and-forth, the second quarter was coming to an end. With it, Barça's players, desperate—from Fall punching the floor to Peñarroya complaining, rightly, to the referees—couldn't cut the deficit. Unicaja de Málaga went into halftime up by nine (35-44).
The game continued in the same vein. Unicaja optimized their possessions with good technical and tactical plays, while the home team, like a chicken with its head cut off, shot aimlessly—but with no other options—everything they got from the perimeter, with very little success. Five minutes into the quarter, Peñarroya had to call a timeout, accompanied by whistles from much of the crowd. What was happening on the court was starting to become embarrassing, with the visitors up by 14.
Reinforced after the timeout, the home team managed a 6-0 run in a minute and a half. Eight points behind, the refereeing crew made two bad decisions in a row that
slowed the culers' momentum and fired up the Palau—a technical foul not called on Carter for confronting Satoransky, followed by a questionable technical called on Satoransky himself for ordinary protests. After this, Barça's play was an absolute disaster. Too much individualism on offense—one-on-one and from the perimeter—and a passivity on defense that was pitiful in the face of Málaga's unstoppable offensive machine. The home team's lamentable performance ended with a huge three-pointer from the American Carter, who stared at the Palau crowd with a clear expression of superiority, surely thinking he didn't know it was this easy. Unicaja went into the last quarter of the game with a 17-point lead. (48-65)
The culers' play didn't improve in the final period. One of the most embarrassing performances seen at the Palau this season. A team with no harmony, no head. One must wonder where the commitment shown by the players in the first game of the series has gone. Also, where the tactical resources are to overcome high-level teams. Even Peñarroya lost his composure in a dispute with Ejim, who narrowly escaped a technical. A lamentable image to end the afternoon. The players acted with total passivity, not showing a hint of resistance to stop Ibon Navarro's men, who were just strolling. Embarrassing performance by Barça, who will play for a spot in the semis in Málaga. (59-81)