2014-15Top 16Round 4
Real Madrid 83
Panathinaikos Athens 65
January 22, 2015 CET: 20:45
Local time: 20:45 BARCLAYCARD CENTER

Reyes, Fernandez lead Madrid to big home win

In a battle between Turkish Airlines Euroleague giants, Real Madrid registered its fourth win in as many games in Group E by thrashing Panathinaikos Athens 83-65 in the Spanish capital on Thursday. Madrid improved to 4-0 in the Top 16, while Panathinaikos dropped to 2-2. Felipe Reyes led the winners with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Rudy Fernandez added 15 points, Sergio Llull had 14 while Sergio Rodriguez tallied 10 points and 7 assists for Madrid. Esteban Batista led Panathinaikos with 15 points and 9 rebounds. A.J. Slaughter added 12 points, while Janis Blums scored 10 for the Greens. A wild alley-oop slam by James Gist kept Panathinaikos within 10-9 midway through the first quarter. Llull took over right after that to boost Madrid's lead to 20-14 after 10 minutes. Fernandez and Rodriguez took over in the second quarter and a three-pointer by Andres Nocioni gave Los Blancos a double-digit margin, 39-29, at halftime. An outstanding Reyes helped Madrid to boost its margin to 60-48 after 30 minutes and a three-pointer by Jaycee Carroll sealed the outcome, 72-52, midway through the fourth quarter.

First quarter: Strong defense lifts home team

Reyes got Madrid going with a five-meter baseline jumper, but Antonis Fotsis beat the shot clock buzzer with a long two-pointer for a 2-2 tie. K.C. Rivers shined with a reverse layup and a floating jumper by Reyes gave Madrid a 6-2 lead. A.J. Slaughter struck from downtown and Reyes swished a mid-range jumper. Panathinaikos kept powering the offensive board without getting results on offense - 2-of-11 shooting. The guests tried a more athletic lineup with Fotsis and Gist together on court. Rudy Fernandez took over with a tip-in, Dimitris Diamantidis fed Gist for a layup and then again for an alley-oop slam that brought the Greens within 10-9. Fernandez kept pacing Madrid with a driving layup, which Llull followed with a three-pointer. Fotsis answered from downtown and DeMarcus Nelson scored in penetration, but Llull single-handily gave Madrid a 20-14 lead after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Rodriguez shines, Madrid takes off

Fernandez joined the three-point shootout early in the quarter. Esteban Batista scored around the basket, but Sergio Rodriguez sent a wild no-look assist to Ioannois Bourousis for an easy slam. Blums nailed his trademark three-pointer off the dribble. Fernandez scored again, but a high-flying slam by Gist silenced the crowd at 27-21. Rodriguez quickly banked in a running shot in transition, which a red-hot Gist bettered with a three-pointer to make it 29-24. After Nocioni answered from downtown, Batista scored around the basket and followed a three-pointer with a fast break layup to make it a double-digit game, 36-26. Blums buried another three, as Madrid tried to improve its defense with Nocioni and Marcus Slaughter around the baskets. Nocioni struck from downtown to set a 39-29 Madrid margin at halftime.

Third quarter: Madrid keeps safe margin

Reyes scored down low immediately after the break. A.J. Slaughter countered with free throws. Llull took over with a corner three that ignited the crowd at 44-31. A.J. Slaughter answered from downtown. Reyes hit free throws – Madrid's first trip to the foul line – but Batista brought Panathinaikos a bit closer, 46-37. A.J. Slaughter nailed a three-pointer and a coast-to-coast layup by Nelson caused Madrid to call timeout at 46-42. Fernandez stepped up with an electric driving layup, which Reyes followed with a two-handed slam for a 50-42 Madrid edge. Fernandez fed Carroll for a layup, which saw the Greens call timeout at 52-42. Reyes sank 4 free throws. Fotsis answered with a backdoor layup, but a wild basket by Fernandez broke the game open, 58-44, after a 12-2 run. After Nelson scored around the basket, Reyes shined with a put-back layup. A buzzer-beating tip-in by Blums kept Panathinaikos within 60-48.

Fourth quarter: Madrid seals big home win

Batista banked in a close shot early in the quarter, but Fernandez quickly answered with an off-balance basket, good for a 62-50 Madrid margin. Rodriguez took over with a fast break layup and a wild dunk by Marcus Slaughter made it a 16-point game. Llull fired in his fourth three-pointer, but Diamantidis beat the shot clock buzzer with a jumper. A big triple by Carroll sealed the outcome, 72-52, with six minutes left. Rodriguez took over with a wild driving layup. Batista hit free throws, but an alley-oop slam by Marcus Slaughter kept Madrid way ahead, 76-54. Batista scored again and added a three-point play, as both teams fought for point difference. Carroll sank his trademark catch-and-shoot triple and even though Fotsis scored down low, everything was said and done already, as Madrid pleased its fans with a very convincing home win.

Thursday, January 22, 2015
Euroleague.net

Referees: LOTTERMOSER, ROBERT; VIATOR, EDDIE; PATERNICO, CARMELO
Attendance: 11382
By Quarter1234
Real Madrid20192123
Panathinaikos Athens14151917
End of Quarter1234
Real Madrid20396083
Panathinaikos Athens14294865
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 15:59 2 1/3 0/1   1   1           2   -2
5 FERNANDEZ, RUDY 25:32 15 6/10 1/4   3 4 7 5 2 1     2 3 22
6 NOCIONI, ANDRES 21:40 9   2/6 3/4   4 4 1   1     3 3 8
7 CAMPAZZO, FACUNDO 1:44                   1     2   -3
8 MACIULIS, JONAS 7:18   0/1 0/1     1 1 2 1         1 3
9 REYES, FELIPE 18:20 18 6/9 0/2 6/6 5 4 9     3     1 4 22
13 RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO 20:43 10 5/6 0/3     1 1 7 4 1     1 3 19
14 AYON, GUSTAVO 17:39   0/2     1 3 4 2 2   1   1 1 7
20 CARROLL, JAYCEE 23:11 8 1/2 2/6     2 2 1 2 1   1 1 1 6
23 LLULL, SERGIO 25:49 14 1/3 4/7     1 1 3         1 3 15
30 BOUROUSIS, IOANNIS 8:12 2 1/4     1 1 2 1         1   1
44 SLAUGHTER, MARCUS 13:53 5 2/3   1/2   1 1   1 1 1   2 2 5
Team           3 2 5               5
Totals 200:00 83 23/43 9/30 10/12 14 24 38 22 12 9 2 1 17 21 108
        53.5% 30% 83.3%
Head coach: LASO, PABLO
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
Panathinaikos Athens
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 CHARALAMPOPOULOS, VASILIS 13:49     0/1   1 3 4 2 1 2     1 2 5
6 SLAUGHTER, AJ 31:17 12 0/6 3/5 3/3 2 5 7 1   4   2 2 2 6
9 FOTSIS, ANTONIS 28:21 9 3/5 1/4 0/2 5 3 8 1   3     4 2 6
10 NELSON, DEMARCUS 17:47 6 3/5 0/2     4 4 3   3 1   2 1 6
13 DIAMANTIDIS, DIMITRIS 33:33 6 2/2 0/6 2/2 1 4 5 7   1     4 1 8
14 GIST, JAMES 24:21 9 3/6 1/3   1 2 3 2   3     2 1 5
15 BATISTA, ESTEBAN 27:18 15 6/11   3/3 2 7 9 1 1 4     3 6 20
16 KONIARIS, ANTONIOS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
17 DIAMANTAKOS, GEORGIOS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
18 BLUMS, JANIS 23:34 8 1/1 2/5   1   1 1   1     3 1 4
19 PAPAGIANNIS, GEORGIOS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team                     1         -1
Totals 200:00 65 18/36 7/26 8/10 13 28 41 18 2 22 1 2 21 16 59
        50% 26.9% 80%
Head coach: IVANOVIC, DUSKO

Head Coaches

LASO, PABLO
Real Madrid
"The key was our defense during all 40 minutes. I think everybody played with a lot of intensity and we were playing smart, defending their low-post and pick-and-roll situations. That gave us rhythm on offense and gave us a good advantage and a good lead. We won all four quarters, which is a good sign. We did a solid defensive job, with few mistakes during the 40 minutes. We managed to slow Panathinaikos's strong points. It is a deserved win even when it was not a brilliant day for us on offense, missing a lot of open shots. We had our worst defensive moment in the third quarter but in general, we had a very good game on defense. The team has worked well and with a 4-0 record, you can look at the upcoming schedule with more optimism."
IVANOVIC, DUSKO
Panathinaikos Athens
"First of all, congratulations to Real Madrid. They came out to win the game and made the most our of lack of conviction. We didn't believe we could win. We managed to get within four points but lacked psychological strength. They showed they played good defense and very good team offense. I think we could have played better and won this game. It is all in the mind, I think. Some players saw more minutes than usual because we lacked players in our rotation. It is no excuse: the ones we played could have perfectly won the game. We don't play on the road the way we play at home."

Players

RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO
Real Madrid
"We are happy. We knew that the most important games were coming and were mentally ready. We are playing good defense and things are beginning to roll on offense. We have to keep fighting - we have to qualify to the next round and try to get the home-court advantage. All opponents will be difficult in the playoffs and we have to try to get the home-court advantage, which was really important in previous years and I think it could be a key to make it to the Final Four. For a team like ours, which likes to play in transition and run the floor, we have to play defense and rebound well. We were not doing it very well so far, but now that the final months of the season are here, we must do it and that will give us a big plus on offense."
REYES, FELIPE
Real Madrid
"I feel good, with a lot of confidence and very good physically. I have been working really hard to keep playing like this. Above all, we are playing well and improved our level from the beginning of the season. We are seeing a very different team and that is the right direction until the end of the season. We will play against Maccabi in Tel Aviv next week - a long trip and against the team which beat us in the Euroleague final last season. We have to keep playing like this and if we do, we will have chances to get a win there."
BATISTA, ESTEBAN
Panathinaikos Athens
"It was not the start of the game that we wanted. We didn't expect to start the game like that. We got closer in the third quarter and it was a shame not to take the lead. This is basketball: you cannot be focused for a few minutes, you need that for 40 minutes and we didn't do that tonight. We have to improve some things for the next game. We lost by many points but we have to start thinking of the next game."
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