Barcelona won Copa del Rey, Cory Higgins named MVP

FC Barcelona routed archrival Real Madrid 73-88 at WiZink Center in the Spanish capital to win the Spanish King’s Cup for the 26th time in club history. Cory Higgins scored 20 points to lead Barcelona, Rolands Smits added 13 points, Nikola Mirotic scored 12, Nick Calathes tallied 12 points and 9 assists and Brandon Davies posted 10 points and 8 rebounds. Walter Tavares led the Real effort with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks and Alberto Abalde scored 15. Smits and Mirotic combined for 10 points in a 0-14 first-quarter run as Barcelona claimed a double-digit lead, though Real got within 11-20 after 10 minutes. Trey Thompkins narrowed the gap to 4 early in the second quarter, but Barcelona responded with a 3-13 charge and rolled to a 31-52 halftime advantage. The lead peaked at 31-55 early in the third quarter on a three-point play by Higgins. Real got within 50-63 late in the third and a three-pointer by Abalde made it 62-73 in the fourth, but that was as close as it got as Barcelona held on for the win and the cup.