By Alex Madrid / info@eurohoops.net
We lived a kind of a deja-vu of the first-leg’ thriller in Piraeus tonight. Although without the overtime.
Olympiacos defeated Real Madrid on the road 80 – 79 in a highly exciting match that was reminiscent of a Final Four battle.
2018 NBA Draft prospect Luka Doncic was fantastic from Real’s side with a game-high 27 points while a heroic Giorgos Printezis hurt Real with 21 points and 8 rebounds.
Real Madrid struggled shooting free throws the entire game despite being the second-best team in the EuroLeague. With 30 seconds left the otherwise impeccable free-throw shooter Luka Doncic had 0/2 but Mantzaris step into the line and he had to repeat. Doncic made one tying the game 79 – 79, Janis Strelnieks received a foul and also converted one free throw.
It was Doncic’s time to redeem himself by taking the last offense. Yet the young Slovenian slid off driving to the basket. Fabien Causer got the ball but he didn’t want to take the last shot. Campazzo tried a 3-pointer and he was fouled. But the clock had already expired.
While Doncic failed to score from way downtown, finishing with 1/6, he was unstoppable attacking the rim, forcing his opponents to foul no less than 13 times.
Speaking of fouls or free throws, a possibly crucial moment took place after Felipe Reyes’ trip to the line. The captain of Real received a dime to convert two easy points but Spanoulis appeared and committed the unsportsmanlike foul. It was a 70 – 73 game for the “Blancos” at that point. The referees reviewed and indeed, it was two free throws plus the possession. Spanoulis had and ugly game but that mistake seemed to make it worst.
But this is the story of how an unsportsmanlike foul changed the game. Reyes captain missed both free throws and that annoyed him. He kicked the ball and it was obviously a tech. Real Madrid lost lots of ground in that play.
Vassilis Spanoulis suffered from all his match-ups – he even shot an airball – and finished scoreless. A big contrast with his 19-point game last week vs. Fenerbahce.