Dubai turn it around in Cluj as Europe calls again

Dubai made only five of their 22 attempts from three point range in Cluj on Sunday and still found enough scoring to leave Romania with a win. After an evening against Crvena Zvezda in which almost everything had become difficult, that was a useful response. Their 92 to 85 victory came through a recovery after half time, with several players contributing to an attack that had more ways to succeed than its outside shooting suggested.

The result left the defending ABA League champions with two wins from two games in Group B. It also gave Xavi Pascual something more encouraging to take into a demanding European week. Dubai visit Baskonia on Tuesday and Milan on Thursday, continuing a run of three away fixtures in five days. The journey began with a victory, although the first half offered little assurance that it would finish that way.

Cluj led 45 to 36 at the interval, having taken the second quarter 26 to 15. Dubai had edged the opening period, but their advantage was gone by the break and the hosts had given themselves a worthwhile lead. Three days after being held to 58 points at home by Crvena Zvezda, Pascual's side again needed to make their possessions more productive. There would be no comfortable passage through this part of the schedule.

The change came quickly enough to give Dubai control before the final quarter. They outscored Cluj 21 to 6 over the first six minutes after the restart, moving ahead 57 to 51, and finished the period with a 68 to 59 lead. A quarter won 32 to 14 had reversed the position completely. Dubai then added another 24 points to ensure that the work of recovering the lead was followed by the work of protecting it.

Cluj had arrived with results that made the challenge worth taking seriously. They won 95 to 84 at Vienna in their opening ABA League game, then beat Umana Reyer Venice 98 to 92 in the EuroCup on Wednesday. Javonte Smart scored 26 in that European win, which also required the Romanian side to recover from a deficit at the interval. Dubai were facing opponents with recent evidence of their own ability to turn a game around.

This time, the visitors had the broader spread of scoring. McKinley Wright led Dubai with 14 points, while Elie Okobo and Mfiondu Kabengele supplied 12 each. Dwayne Bacon and Davion Mintz added 11 apiece. A total of 92 without anyone reaching 15 is a pleasing distribution for a coach preparing for two more games in quick succession. The responsibility did not settle on one player having to produce an exceptional afternoon.

The more revealing difference was inside the arc. Dubai made 31 of their 46 attempts from two point range and scored 54 points in the paint, compared with Cluj's 36. The hosts made 13 threes to Dubai's five, a substantial advantage from distance that was ultimately insufficient. For Dubai, the value lay in continuing to score while one important part of the attack remained unreliable.

Their care with possession helped. Dubai finished with 20 assists and seven turnovers, with Bacon supplying five assists and Okobo four. Those figures give some substance to Pascual's satisfaction with the ball movement after the break. A missed outside shot is less damaging when the next possession can still produce a good opportunity, and the visitors had enough contributors to keep the score moving.

Pascual's account afterwards was measured about the first half. He felt Dubai had played better than the score suggested, having failed to convert open shots and chances close to the basket. He was more satisfied with the second half, when they scored 56 points. His assessment matters because it leaves room for both parts of the performance: opportunities that had gone unused before the interval and better execution once the game resumed.

There was a useful difference from Dubai's first league win. In Ljubljana a week earlier, they made 13 of 27 attempts from beyond the arc while beating Ilirija 85 to 70. They also established a large lead before half time. Cluj required them to win from a less comfortable position and with much less help from their shooting at distance. Two away victories have therefore brought different kinds of encouragement at the beginning of their title defence.

Pascual also spread the minutes. Eleven Dubai players took the court and all scored, with none playing as much as 25 minutes. Filip Petrušev contributed seven points, six rebounds and three assists in just under 20 minutes. With little recovery time before Baskonia, using that many players while still securing the result was a practical benefit of the afternoon. The next opponents will present different problems, but the work in Romania was shared.

There are reasons to remain careful about the defensive picture. Cluj scored 26 points in the final quarter and won the rebounding count 34 to 29. Kristian Kullamäe finished with 19 points and Smart with 18, reminders that the hosts retained enough scoring to make Dubai keep working. Holding them to 14 in the third quarter was decisive; reproducing that concentration over a longer stretch would make future recoveries less necessary.

For now, Dubai have protected their unbeaten regional record and given themselves a better performance to revisit between flights. The return to the EuroLeague will ask whether Sunday's more productive attack can travel again, beginning at Baskonia on October 13. Pascual can take encouragement from the number of players who helped in Cluj, while looking for an opening half that gives them less to repair. With Milan following two days later, making their good passages last would be the most useful improvement to carry forward.