Barcelona did not control this game from the opening tip. It controlled the part that mattered.
After falling behind 25-16 in the first quarter, Barcelona answered with a 29-point second period and closed Anadolu Efes out with a 26-15 fourth quarter, winning 89-82 at Palau Blaugrana on September 24, 2026. The victory pushes Barcelona to 2-0 in the best-of-seven Euroleague playoff series, a significant early hold of home court in Round 1.
The market saw a tight matchup, with Barcelona carrying a 54.1 percent implied probability across nine bookmakers. The game played that way for long stretches. Efes had enough creation and free-throw pressure to keep the scoreboard moving, but Barcelona’s perimeter efficiency and late-game execution ultimately separated the teams.
Barcelona survives the early hit
Efes landed the first punch. The visitors scored 25 points in the opening quarter, putting Barcelona into an immediate chase position. That stretch aligned with Efes’ pregame offensive indicators: a 115.6 offensive rating, a 66.7 assist rate and strong free-throw efficiency.
Barcelona’s response came quickly. The second quarter flipped the game, with the home side outscoring Efes 29-19. That run stabilized the night and prevented Efes from turning its early rhythm into control of the series. By halftime, Barcelona had reasserted the shot profile that has defined its opening sample: elite efficiency, heavy 3-point volume and enough ball movement to punish defensive rotations.
The third quarter belonged to Efes by a narrow margin, 23-18, but Barcelona’s final push was decisive. The 26-15 fourth quarter was the cleanest expression of the gap between the teams entering the night: Barcelona came in with a plus-6.6 net rating and the No. 5 CPI profile at 78.34, while Efes entered with a minus-6.6 net rating and a No. 16 CPI mark at 21.66.
Shot quality and 3-point pressure tilted the matchup
The clearest pregame indicator was Barcelona’s shooting profile. Through the available sample, Barcelona carried a 79 percent true shooting mark, a 77.1 effective field goal percentage and a massive 82.9 percent 3-point rate. That identity mattered again.
Barcelona’s listed team line showed 21-of-35 from the field, 12-of-29 from 3 and 11-of-14 at the foul line. That 3-point volume was the pressure point. Efes, by contrast, finished 24-of-41 from the field but just 4-of-20 from deep, relying far more heavily on free throws at 22-of-25.
That contrast shaped the game. Efes generated efficient scoring through the line and had the better raw rebounding total, 30-28. But Barcelona’s ability to stretch the floor created higher-leverage scoring windows. In a seven-point game, the 3-point gap was the defining tactical difference.
Efes found advantages, but not enough of them
Anadolu Efes did not lose because it lacked structure. The visitors had 16 assists to Barcelona’s 14 and matched Barcelona with 12 turnovers. They also entered with a better rebound percentage, 51.7 to Barcelona’s 48.3, and that edge appeared again in the team totals.
But Efes’ perimeter inefficiency limited the ceiling. The pregame warning sign was already there: Efes came in shooting 20 percent from 3-point range in the available sample. Against a Barcelona team comfortable playing through spacing and long-range volume, that is a difficult trade to win unless the free-throw margin overwhelms the game.
Efes got to the line and converted. It still was not enough.
No injury caveats, no fatigue excuse
Both teams entered without significant injuries reported, removing a major variable from the result. The schedule also offered no obvious fatigue imbalance: Barcelona had 153 days of rest and no games in the previous seven days, while Efes had 160 days of rest and no games in the previous seven days.
That made this a clean read on roster form and matchup dynamics. Barcelona’s strengths translated: spacing, efficiency and late-game scoring. Efes’ concerns also translated: a negative net rating profile and limited 3-point conversion against a team built to punish that math.
Series pressure shifts to Efes
Barcelona now owns a 2-0 series lead in a best-of-seven matchup and has protected Palau Blaugrana through the opening two games. With 24 games of playoff experience listed for Barcelona compared with two for Anadolu Efes, the home side also entered with a substantial postseason context edge.
Efes showed it can score in stretches and put Barcelona under pressure. Mike James entered as the visitors’ leading scorer at 22 points per game, with Dario Saric at 17 and Matthew Strazel at 12, giving Efes enough shot creation to stay dangerous. But the series has already developed a clear theme: Efes must either narrow the 3-point gap or dominate the possession battle more forcefully.
Barcelona, led in the early scoring profile by Dario Brizuela at 20 points per game and Kevin Punter at 19, has the cleaner formula. It does not need to win every category. It needs to keep bending the game toward efficiency and spacing.
On Thursday, that was enough. Again.