By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Real Madrid had everything in check and got the 86-76 win over FC Barcelona after a regular-season game that was as tense as the playoffs. In the closing minutes of the game, Real Madrid‘s Eddy Tavares was ejected with a technical foul, Barcelona’s Corry Higgins was called for an unsportsmanlike foul, and the biggest rivalry in Europe is alive and kicking in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
A tale of two quarters
The game started with Real Madrid leading 19-5 after six minutes of action and having a 32-14 lead at the end of the first quarter with Anthony Randolph scoring 11 points and leading the charge.
“We didn’t start well, and Madrid played perfectly,” coach Svetislav Pesic admitted after the game, “but in the second quarter, we played the way we wanted.”
Barcelona turned the tables quickly and bounced back admirably in the second period. The partial score was 36-16 for the guests, who finished the first half with a 50-48 lead. Nikola Mirotic, with 12 points, Ante Tomic with 11 and Malcolm Delaney with nine gave Barcelona the much need firepower. It was evident at this point that everything was possible.
The crucial run of Taylor
Real Madrid’s reaction came just after half time with a 13-0 run that gave to the “Whites” a 61-50 lead. Jeffery Taylor scored eight of those points, the hosts were back in the driver’s seat and were not willing to let things slip again.
At the end of the third, Madrid led by seven (71-64), and Barcelona couldn’t get again into shooting distance. Randolph finished the game with 16 points for Madrid, the Argentinian duo of Facundo Campazzo, and Gabriel Deck added 13 points each, and Jordan Mickey had 12. Mirotic finished the night with 19 points for Barcelona.
“We made all the shots in the second period, we ran and thought that we could play in the second half as we did in the second quarter, but against a team like Real Madrid, you must have patience, especially on five-on-five situations,” admitted Pesic.
“We know how difficult it is to beat any team in the EuroLeague, but we were playing at home, and I think that our fans gave us a lot of energy. I think we played a very good game for three quarters – our second quarter was not good, but we were able to stay concentrated and turn around the mistakes that we made”, said Real Madrid’s coach Pablo Laso.
The winning side got into a 5-3 record, while Barcelona is tied on the top spot with four more teams – Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan, Khimki Moscow Region, Anadolu Efes – at 6-2.
Photo credit: EuroLeague