Unicaja Malaga forced a decisive Game 3 in its 7DAYS EuroCup Quarterfinals series against FC Bayern Munich with a 82-67 victory at home in Game 2 on Friday. Dejan Musli picked up 15 points as Unicaja snapped Bayern's 10-game winning streak in the EuroCup to set up the third game on Wednesday at the Audi Dome. Jamar Smith came off the bench for Unicaja for 13 points and both Jeff Brooks and Adam Waczynski scored 11. Bayern, which won the first game 91-82 at home, was paced by 10 points each from Anton Gavel and Nick Johnson.
Brooks started the game hot from outside with 2 three-pointers as Unicaja opened a 10-4 lead. Devin Booker came off the Bayern bench early with 2 baskets and an assist to help Bayern knot the game at 10-10. The Bayern reserves continued to produce with a three-pointer from Johnson, who assisted on Alex King's dunk for the German side's first lead and a 17-19 advantage after 10 minutes. Smith opened the second quarter with a triple to give Unicaja back the lead. A pair of put-backs of offensive rebounds and a Maxi Kleber three pushed Bayern ahead 23-28. Bayern went cold offensively without a score for 4 minutes while Musli scored twice inside and Kyle Fogg nailed a triple among his 8 points in an 18-3 run over the final 6 minutes to lead 41-31 at the break. Bryce Taylor hit a three-pointer as Bayern lowered the gap to 43-36. But Unicaja answered with 8-2 spurt as Adam Waczynski and Brooks nailed back-to-back three-pointers for a 57-42 advantage. Bayern tried to get back into the game and it was 60-54 after Gavel and Taylor hit from long range. Smith answered with two more long balls, however, while scoring 7 points in a 9-2 close to the third quarter for a 69-56 lead. The deficit was down to 69-61 after another Gavel three-pointer but Alberto Diaz hit 2 straight three-balls at the other end and Musli added 7 more points in opening an 82-67 lead with 3 minutes left. Bayern failed to score on its final six possessions in the loss.
"First, I'd like to toast our crowd, the 8,000-plus fans who came. They were crucial to demonstrate not only that the effort of the team, but the effort of the club and the city to show we want to keep dreaming of being able to advance through this series. Next, I want to congratulate the team for being able to play with maturity in confronting the first aggressive contact coming from Bayern and difficult plays without abandoning our script. That's important if we want to be able to win in Munich on Wednesday. We have overcome some unforced errors of our own, but in general, I congratulate my players for showing they can go head-to-head with Bayern."
"Above all, congratulations to Unicaja. I think they deserved this victory because they took the court with great energy and the attitude of a team that wants to win. They took advantage of the refereeing criteria, which you have to, by putting a lot of pressure and playing physical. We knew what would make the difference and we took seven offensive rebounds in the first half, but we didn't get a single basket from them. Meanwhile, Unicaja got nine points from four offensive rebounds, and there was the difference. Our 19 turnovers are too much for this level; they gave a lot of help to the winning team."