Barca left Tau no room to challenge them in game 3 playing solid throughout the game to win 85-67 and get one step closer to the title. Barcelona's defense focused on shutting down Tau's main offensive weapon aka Rakocevic and by doing so, won the game easily.
In the second quarter Barcelona took advantage of their superiority in the paint and put the ball in the hands of their bigs, especially the amazing Ersan Ilyasova who had 9 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in the second period. As a result Barcelona went to halftime with a seven point lead (40-33)
Same picture in the third quarter with Gianluca Basile taking over from where Ilyasova stopped, having 8 points in that period. The only one trying for Tau seemed to be Pablo Prigioni and so Barcelona took an eleven point lead to enter the last quarter.
And then there was showtime… Tau didn't manage to get back in the game early in the fourth quarter, with Rakocevic still strugling under Barcelona's defense, the threepointers were falling for the Catalans, Ilyasova kept up his pace having another 10 points and three rebounds and so the game ended 85-67 in favor of the hosts that will have their first matchpoint at home in 3 days.
Barcelona: Ilyasova 19 (9 rebs), Basile 19 (5/7 3s), Navarro 10, Andersen 10
Tau: Prigioni 12, Vidal 11, Rakocevic 10
