By Eurohoops Team / info@eurohoops.net
Pablo Laso confessed before the game that they weren’t thinking about taking “revenge” vs. Barcelona because a EuroLeague match is a different story.
Yet Real Madrid wreaked vengeance in style after the defeat they suffered less than a week ago in the Copa Del Rey Final. In a manner similar to what happened last year in the same arena between the two teams, Madrid smashed its archrival on the road 101 – 74.
Barcelona looked like they were celebrating the title that they won in Las Palmas and they didn’t appear over the court during the first quarter. The Spanish Cup MVP Thomas Heurtel had 11 points and 6 assists for the losing side that was without three key players (Pau Ribas, Pierre Oriola and Rakim Sanders).
“Los Blancos” dominated every single aspect during the first ten minutes: shooting, boards, turnovers (in fact, the guests did not lose a ball until the third quarter)… and performance index rating. Madrid was leading 43 to -2 in PIR with 3 seconds left in the quarter and 30 – 10 on the scoreboard. Sasha Vezenkov slightly reduced the deficit with a triple at the buzzer but he and his teammates were still at a distance following their opponents’ terrific start.
Svetislav Pesic’s men tried to react, especially in the second quarter (43 – 33, 18′) but Facundo Campazzo’s magic was too much. The Argentinian international was impeccable in his playmaking and finished with 11 points, 9 assists, and 3 steals.
Jaycee Carroll led the winners in scoring with 18 while Anthony Randolph had his best game since he recovered from injury with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Potential no. 1 pick of 2018 Draft Luka Doncic was out of sync as he finished with 2 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists in just 15 minutes.
With this win, Real Madrid improved to a 14-9 record while Barca still misses Pesic’s effect in EuroLeague and practically says goodbye to the playoffs.
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