By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Real Madrid has forgotten how to lose a game in EuroLeague apparently. The Blancos registered their ninth win in a row and remained undefeated at home by routing Zenit St. Petersburg 85 – 64 behind a strong team performance.
Guerschon Yabusele and Sergio Llull led the way in scoring for Real with 13 points apiece. Trey Thompkins dropped 12 points and Vincent Poirier finished with 10 points plus eight rebounds as Real became the first EuroLeague team to reach 20 victories this season.
“I think that, in the first half, we made some mistakes and they stayed the game with that, and in the second half we controlled the rhythm of the game and that’s how we made the difference,” Poirier said. “Poythress is a great rebounder, so as soon as we took that away, we could grab the rebounds, run, and that is our strength.”
Alex Poythress, for whom Poirier was speaking with such praise, delivered a game-high 21 points plus nine rebounds. Jordan Loyd scored 14 for a Zenit squad that was truly competitive only for the first 15 minutes. With the score tied at 30, Real made a 15 – 6 run to close halftime up 45 – 36 and then went up by double figures early in the third period.
Real was now at the driver’s seat and kept pushing forward. The Spanish side fully assumed control of the game and soon established a lead of around 20 points as Zenit was overwhelmed by both the hosts’ efficiency and their own inability to keep up.
“I don’t believe it was a matter of fatigue,” Zenit coach Xavi Pascual said. His team dropped to 14 – 8 but remains fourth in the standings. “Real was much better than us. I think they played a very good game tonight. We were not enough. We were not effective but also were not enough defensively and offensively. In this moment, we cannot compete against Real. This is the reality; we have to accept it. They are playing very well and we cannot be at this level.”
Next stop: Clasico
The game vs. Zenit was already a part of the past and the next challenge for Real is the Clasico vs. archrival Barcelona. The last team to beat them in EuroLeague.
“Defensively, we did a good job,” Real coach Pablo Laso said in the beginning of his post-game comments. “There are some players who really played very good defense. We had some stupid mistakes that hurt us against a team that plays very good. I think that, offensively, we moved the ball well. We got open jumpers, got good percentages, so I am happy to get this victory. ‘El Clasico’ (next week) is a different game. Barcelona vs. Real Madrid doesn’t mean too much, let’s say, because we are playing against the best teams in Europe, and we are facing great teams every night: it is not [just] ‘El Clasico’. But it’s true that it is an important game. Both teams are at the top of the standings. We are trying to get our playoffs spot and look for the home-court advantage. For me, right now, that’s the most important.”