ALBA Berlin downs the San Antonio Spurs

ALBA Berlin kept its unbeaten start to the season going by defeating the San Antonio Spurs in a NBA Global Games contest at ALBA’s O2 Arena. In an exciting game the German outfit defied the final buzzer to sink the current NBA champions 94-93 in front of a packed house of raucous fans.

ALBA Berlin vs. San Antonio Spurs, 94-93
The NBA franchise looked the more active in the opening stages and outpaced ALBA through the first quarter to carve out a 26-18 lead after 10 minutes on court. It looked like a rout was in the offing, but ALBA Berlin took advantage by pouring in 29 points through the period to keep pace and cut the lead to 7 points at the long break. Heading into the locker room at halftime the American team held a 47-54 lead. The Spurs showed a bit of court rust and looked like a team in pre-season during the third frame quarter, allowing the hosts to win the stanza 26-21, slashing the scoreboard to 73-75 after half hour of play. In a tense closing quarter the San Antonio franchise looked likely to hold on against a Berlin onslaught, but with the seconds dwindling Jamel McLean beat the buzzer with a running bank shot. It was a dramatic finale that wowed the crowd and handed ALBA Berlin the victory.

McLean put on a good show as his game winning shot took him to 18 points, while he doubled up with 10 boards. Also on target for ALBA was Clifford Hammonds and Alex Renfroe with 15 apiece.

Tony Parker paced the San Antonio Spurs with 28 points, while Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan grabbed 14 each in defeat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_RZiq3BNwk