By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Anthony Randolph registered a season-high with 22 points, and five made threes as Real Madrid got the 87-75 road victory in Athens against Panathinaikos OPAP.
The Spanish powerhouse remains tied with Anadolu Efes on the top of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings with a 13-3 record, while the Greeks dropped to a 9-7 record, good enough for the sixth spot.
The 11th straight win of Madrid is the biggest streak for the club since the last change of the EuroLeague format. “It sounds very good, but we will see,” said Madrid coach Pablo Laso. “We know that every game is going to be important. We didn’t start the season well, but I am happy that the team is growing, and I am happy with the job we are doing until now”.
Real Madrid got the lead by the end of the first quarter (22-18) and got a 10-point advantage at halftime (44-34). Jimmer Fredette had already scored 13 points with three made threes, however, in total Panathinaikos shot in total 4/13 and couldn’t keep up with the guests.
That was evident at the start of the second half with Madrid making the score 57-39 after a 13-5 run. Panathinaikos’ answer was a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 11 points (59-48) and a little bit later to eight (66-58) at the end of the third quarter.
Randolph, with his fifth three of the night, stretched Madrid’s lead again to double digits (69-58) with the first made bucket of the last period, and while Panathinaikos tried to get into striking distance, they simply couldn’t.
Walter Tavares’ presence was also a key for Madrid’s win. He finished the night with a double-double (14 p. 14 r.), three assists, and one block to tie his personal best EuroLeague ranking with 32. On the other side, Fredette had in total 18 points, and Nick Calathes also scored 19 and dished six assists, but missed all six of his three-pointers attempts, before making his seventh when the game was practically over. In total, he had one out of eight.
“The key was our defense”
For coach Pablo Laso, what really made a difference was Madrid’s defense: “Τhe key was our defense and we got control of the game with a very good second quarter. We were not so good in our transition defense in the third and the fourth quarter and they are a great team in transition. However, we kept them in just 75 points”.
The point remains that Madrid got an impressive win and when Laso was asked if it’s premature to say that his team can be considered a favorite to go all the way, he added: “I don’t know if it’s premature, but when we talk about Real Madrid, we are considered favorites and we accept that. However, this is a very difficult competition”.
“It was a disappointing defeat, but they were simply bigger, stronger and better”, added Panathinaikos coach Rick Pitino. “The answer for us is not to add other players, but to improve”.