2014-15Top 16Round 3
ALBA Berlin 61
Real Madrid 79
January 15, 2015 CET: 20:15
Local time: 20:15 O2 WORLD

Llull, Rodriguez keeps Madrid undefeated in Top 16 Group E

Real Madrid stayed undefeated in Top 16 Group E by downing Alba Berlin 61-79 in the German capital on Thursday. Madrid improved to 3-0 and stayed as the only undefeated team in Group E while ALBA dropped to 1-2. Sergio Llull led the winners with 13 points. Sergio Rodriguez added 12 and 7 assists, K.C. Rivers had 11 points while Rudy Fernandez got 10 for Madrid. Alex Renfroe had 13 points for ALBA while Jamel McLean added 12. ALBA had a strong start but Rivers and Felipe Reyes allowed the guests to get a 15-16 edge after 10 minutes. A layup by Neils Giffey soon gave ALBA a 30-26 margin but a 0-10 run which Llull capped with a fast break layup allowed Madrid to regain the lead, 34-36, at halftime. Madrid used a rain of three-pointers by Llull, Rivers and Fernandez to break the game open, 44-55, after 30 minutes. ALBA never recovered, as Madrid cruised to a well-deserved road win.

First quarter: Madrid shakes off slow start

Gustavo Ayon got Madrid going with a turnaround jumper which Cliff Hammonds matched with a mid-range shot. ALBA found a go-to guy in Giffey, who scored off a steal and soon added a six-meter jumper for a 6-2 lead. Ayon kept pacing Madrid with a three-point play and a big dunk by McLean ignited the crowd at 8-5. Madrid kept struggling to get its backcourt players involved, until Rivers bettered McLean's layup with a bomb form downtown. Reyes scored in the low post and followed that with an off-balance basket to put Madrid back ahead, 10-12. ALBA tried to open the floor with Leon Radosevic and Alex King together on court, but Rivers hit another triple, and a free throw by Ioannis Bourousis made it a six-point game, 10-16. However, McLean made free throws, and a seven-meter bomb by Vojdan Stojanovski brought ALBA within 15-16 after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Madrid uses 0-10 run to stay ahead

Rivers shined with a backdoor layup early in the second quarter. Reggie Redding quickly answered with a power basket which Bourousis erased with a layup. McLean rolled off a pick for a big basket, and after Jaycee Carroll hit a one-handed jumper in the lane, a running hook by Radosevic kept ALBA within 21-22. Carroll struck from downtown, McLean hit free throws before a three-pointer by Renfroe put ALBA back ahead, 26-25. Bourousis split foul shots but Banic gave the hosts a 28-26 edge. Giffey took over with a layup in transition, but a jumper by Reyes and a three-pointer by Rodriguez made ALBA call timeout at 30-32. Fernandez made free throws and Llull took over with a fastbreak layup which capped a 0-10 Madrid run. Renfroe got the crowd involved with a three-pointer, and a free throw by Hammonds fixed the halftime score at 34-36.

Third quarter: Defense, three-pointers make Madrid take off

Both teams struggled to score after the break for more than 3 minutes until Ayon beat the shot-clock buzzer with a put-back layup. Renfroe hit free throws, as ALBA head coach Sasa Obradovic brought McLean back on the court. He immediately delivered with a fastbreak slam which Redding followed with a layup for a 40-38 ALBA lead. Llull answered from downtown and Rivers soon added a corner three-pointer to give Madrid some fresh air at 40-44. Fernandez joined the three-point shootout to make the hosts call timeout at 40-47, after a 0-9 run. Radosevic scored around the basket, but Llull connected again from beyond the arc. Redding sank a one-handed floater, but Fernandez nailed yet another Madrid triple before Llull added free throws to make it a double-digit game, 44-55, at the end of the third quarter.

Fourth quarter: Madrid seals it early, improves to 3-0

Banic scored around the basket early in the fourth quarter but Rodriguez answered with an electric driving layup for a 46-57 Madrid lead. Slaughter made free throws and a three-pointer by Renfroe kept ALBA within 49-59. Madrid had started to use longer possessions to run the game clock down, playing with Rodriguez and Llull together on court. Banic kept pacing ALBA with a basket from close range, but Andres Nocioni took over with a three-point play and Rodriguez added free throws which sealed the outcome, 51-64. Renfroe and Stojanovski hit foul shots, but Carroll buried another three-pointer for a 54-67 Madrid margin. ALBA did not give up, as Radosevic made free throws and Akeem Vargas nailed a three-pointer, but Fernandez scored again and Madrid managed to keep full control of the game to get back home with a valuable road win.

Thursday, January 15, 2015
Euroleague.net

Referees: ANKARALI, RECEP; BOLTAUZER, MATEJ; TRAWICKI, TOMASZ
Attendance: 9317
By Quarter1234
ALBA Berlin15191017
Real Madrid16201924
End of Quarter1234
ALBA Berlin15344461
Real Madrid16365579
ALBA Berlin
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 GIFFEY, NIELS 16:56 8 4/5 0/1     3 3   1 1     3   6
7 KING, ALEX 17:34     0/3   1 4 5   2 1     1 1 3
8 AKPINAR, ISMET DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11 VARGAS, AKEEM 11:13 3 0/1 1/1     2 2 1   1   1 3 1 1
13 BANIC, MARKO 18:37 6 2/5   2/2   1 1   1 4     3 1 -1
15 REDDING, REGGIE 23:54 6 3/7 0/1     1 1 4 1 4     3 1 1
19 STOJANOVSKI, VOJDAN 12:32 4 0/2 1/3 1/2   2 2 1         2 1 1
20 RENFROE, ALEX 26:12 13 0/3 3/5 4/4 1 3 4 3   5   1 3 4 10
22 SEIFERTH, MARTIN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
25 HAMMONDS, CLIFF 30:37 3 1/2 0/1 1/2   2 2 3   3     2 2 2
33 MCLEAN, JAMEL 21:27 12 4/4   4/4 2 3 5     2     5 7 17
43 RADOSEVIC, LEON 20:58 6 2/5   2/2 1 3 4   1 1     1 1 7
Team           1 1 2     1         1
Totals 200:00 61 16/34 5/15 14/16 6 25 31 12 6 23 0 2 26 19 48
        47.1% 33.3% 87.5%
Head coach: OBRADOVIC, SASA
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Real Madrid
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 RIVERS, KC 24:15 11 1/4 3/6     2 2   3       2 1 9
5 FERNANDEZ, RUDY 32:16 10 0/2 2/6 4/4   2 2 3 4 3     1 7 16
6 NOCIONI, ANDRES 13:28 3 1/2 0/2 1/1 1 2 3 1   1 1   2 1 3
7 CAMPAZZO, FACUNDO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 REYES, FELIPE 22:46 6 3/7   0/1 2 4 6 1     1   1 3 11
13 RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO 21:33 12 1/4 2/4 4/4   1 1 7 2 2     3 3 15
14 AYON, GUSTAVO 24:09 9 4/4   1/1 1 5 6 1   3     3 4 14
20 CARROLL, JAYCEE 13:06 8 1/1 2/3           1 1     1   6
23 LLULL, SERGIO 28:56 13 1/4 3/6 2/2   1 1 4   1     1 1 11
30 BOUROUSIS, IOANNIS 9:59 4 1/1   2/6 1 2 3 1   1     1 3 5
44 SLAUGHTER, MARCUS 9:32 3     3/4         1 1     4 3 1
50 MEJRI, SALAH DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           1 3 4               4
Totals 200:00 79 13/29 12/27 17/23 6 22 28 18 11 13 2 0 19 26 95
        44.8% 44.4% 73.9%
Head coach: LASO, PABLO

Head Coaches

OBRADOVIC, SASA
ALBA Berlin
“Real Madrid completely deserved to win this game. They defended very well and showed that they have maybe the best perimeter line-up in Europe. We did a solid job and played good defense also, but Final Four teams like Madrid punish you immediately if you just lose control for a short moment. The score difference was a little bit too high at the end for what the game was like for most of the time."
LASO, PABLO
Real Madrid
"It was important that we played the whole game very focused. We did a great job on defense, containing ALBA’s penetrations and athleticism. There we created the rhythm for our offense. In the first half we missed a lot of shots – also free throws – but in the second half we opened the game when we hit a couple of threes. Sometimes basketball is just about hitting shots. ALBA is doing a great job the whole season and they deserved to be here in the Top 16 of the Euroleague."

Players

GIFFEY, NIELS
ALBA Berlin
"The Madrid defense prevented us from finding the open man like we usually do. They forced us to play one-on-one too often. In the last quarter they sped up the tempo and showed their potential."
RIVERS, KC
Real Madrid
"Defense was the key today. We executed well and move the ball in offense. In the end we also hit the open shots. A great team win. ALBA is a tough team at home, and we wanted to keep them off balance defensively. Tonight we did our job for the most part. We kept them off balance, we rebounded well, and we executed our offense well. There is no pressure on us if you go one game at the time. Only pressure comes if you look far ahead, but we got plenty more games to go in the Top 16 before we can even only think about to look at the Final Four."
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