ESP/USA – Mickeal and Navarro lead Barcelona to big win over Lakers

BARCELONA (NBA/Euroleague/ACB) – Pete Mickael and Juan Carlos Navarro combined for 51 points to lead Euroleague champions Barcelona past NBA champions Los Angeles Lakers 92-88 at the Palau Sant Jordi on Thursday.
 
Pau Gasol had 25 points in his homecoming, but hit only one field goal in the second half as his former club resorted to double-teaming him more often and made him earn his points from the free-throw line after the break.
 
Mickael led all scorers with 26 points and came close to a triple-double with 13 rebounds and seven assists.
 
Both Navarro and Gasol had tough shooting nights, each hitting on seven of 21 attempts. Kobe Bryant, still recovering from off season knee surgery, played 25 minutes and shot two of 15 from the field.
 
“You always want to win but it was an emotional game,” Gasol said afterwards. “The fans enjoyed it and the atmosphere was spectacular. We lost but when your friends win you have to be happy for them.”
 
The contest was a very gritty and physical affair with 56 fouls called. It even got testy at times with technicals assessed to Bryant, Mickael and Navarro.
 
Much like their respective star players, both teams had their shooting woes, putting free-throw accuracy at a premium.
 
“It was physical and despite the fact we missed a lot of outside shots, we held on to get the win,” said Navarro.
 
It was close in the first half and the home side were in front 45-44 at the break.
 
The Lakers blew the game wide open with a 16-4 run in the first 6:10 of the third quarter for their biggest lead of the night, 60-49 on Ron Artest’s steal and easy dunk.
 
The hosts answered right back with Mickael making the most of his trips to the foul line before Terence Morris and Jaka Lakovic came off the bench to hit timely three-pointers.
 
Barca were up 68-67 when the Slovenian guard connected from beyond the arc with 23 seconds left in the period. At the other end Gasol converted a three-point play that gave the NBA team the lead back heading into the final frame.
 
Navarro scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter for the Spanish giants to put them in front 75-74 with 6:30 left to play and they never relinquished the lead.
 
The 30-year-old guard hit one of his trademark floaters, then made good on a pair of free-throws before knocking a long three.
 
Morris and Mickeal later connected from deep for an 84-78 advantage.
 
The visitors got within 86-84 on Lamar Odom’s free-throw with 25 seconds to go. Navarro and Mickael then combined to make all six attempts from the charity stripe to close out the game.
 
The Lakers went to Gasol early and often and the strategy worked to great effect as he scored 10 points in the first six minutes to help his team go up 18-12.
 
Barcelona cut the deficit thanks to Navarro’s scoring punch. He also turned provider, feeding Erazem Lorbek for a three-pointer that tied the game at 20.
 
Lakers back-up point guard Steve Blake hit two jumpers for a 24-21 advantage at the end of the opening period but, with their stars resting, the visitors were on the receiving end of a 9-2 run early in the second quarter to trail 30-26.
 
Derek Fisher and Gasol got their team back on track and they led 42-39 on the latter’s tip-in in the last minute of the first half. Navarro and Morris then connected from deep before Odom’s lay-up cut the deficit to 45-44 for the halftime score.
 
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