Barça 92-95 Real Madrid: Season over

The basketball season at Barça has ended. After losing the first two games of this best-of-five semi-final series, they needed to beat Real Madrid on Sunday to maintain any hope at all of contesting the Liga Endesa final. And despite a brilliant fightback and coming so close to nabbing the win, they eventually fell to the all-whites, and that's the end of a difficult season.

It was already looking bleak when Barça trailed by 11 in the final period, but the sides were all square on 90-90 going into the last minute, when four points from Campazzo and one from Tavares eventually swung things in Madrid's favour.

Early difficulties

It had been an uphill struggle since the start. Parker and Vesely may have looked well plugged in as Barça charged early, but Madrid quickly responded with a 14-3 streak and in a first period in which they converted 6 of the 8 triple attempts, Real were already +11 by the end of it.

Vesely getting fouled out only added to the problems, but it was then that Roger Grimau's side started to look a whole lot more solvent. The fightback began with an 8-0 streak, and a 4/4 run in three-pointers got them back to within just one.

Better and better

The third period was even better for Barça. Abrines bagged a three to level up, and then Ricky Rubio did likewise to get his side +4. Campazzo pulled Madrid back into the game and from then until the end neither side could amass any kind of meaningful lead.

It was utterly tense, and the slightest error, the slightest flash of brilliance, the slightest anything could decide the game. It was 90-90 with just 1:28 to go, and the whole Palau was on its feet and believing. Sadly, it wasn't to be.

Tavares blocked Laprovittola, and Campazzo made the most it with 54 seconds to play (90-92). Then the Argentinian pounced on Abrines' failed 3-point attempt to make it +4 to the visitors (90-94). Just 22 seconds to go. Two missed chances for Barça and instead Madrid got a free. Tavares converted and by this stage the gap was too wide and there was too little on the clock for miracles. Not that Barça didn't give it one last fling, but by then it was inevitable. Real Madrid go into the final. For Barça, it's over and out until 2024/25.

MATCH STATS

BARÇA, 92

REAL MADRID, 95

Barça: Laprovittola, Satoransky, Parker, Parra, Vesely, Brizuela, Abrines, Willy Hernangómez, Da Silva, Ricky Rubio.

Madrid: Campazzo, Causeur, Hezonja, Musa, Tavares, Rudy Fernández, Abalde, Sergio Rodríguez, Poirier, Llull, Yabusele.

Periods: 20-28, 25-21 (45-49), 31-23 (76-72), 16-23 (92-95).