Real Madrid sparkles in road win at Fenerbahce Ulker

Real Madrid led from start to finish en route to an impressive 75-83 road win over Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul at Fenerbahce Ulker Sports Arena on Thursday. Rudy Fernandez shined bright with 21 points and 5 assists, including highlight reel plays as a scorer, passer and defender. The other big contribution came from Mirza Begic, who scored 10 first-quarter points as Madrid took an early lead and finished with 14 on 7-of-8 shooting plus 6 rebounds in just 16 minutes. The victory lifted Madrid into a tie for first place in Group A with previously unbeaten Fenerbahce at 2-1. Jaycee Carroll added 15 points and Sergio Rodriguez tallied 12 points and 6 assists for the victors. Omer Onan paced the hosts with 14 points, David Andersen netted 13, Bo McCalebb, who started despite suffering an ankle injury last week, scored 12 and Emir Preldzic amassed 12 points and 6 assists. Fenerbahce rallied throughout the game. Madrid led by 11 in the seconds quarter, but the hosts got within 36-41 at the break. Rudy put Los Blancos up 41-56 in the third before McCalebb and Andersen led an 11-0 run. And trhe deficit hit 64-66 in the fourth quarter. However Madrid stepped up in time with big shots by Rudy, Carroll and Rodriguez to ice the victory with time to spare.

First quarter: Begic early as Madrid takes early lead

With McCalebb in the Fenerbahce lineup, Madrid coach Pablo Laso opted to hand Dontaye Draper his first career Euroleague start for his defensive prowess. Ogz Savas put the hosts on the scoreboard first with a pair of free throws, but picked up 2 fouls in less than two-and-a-half minutes. Begic cleaned the glass for Madrid’s first basket. A pair of baskets in transition for Nikola Mirotic and Rudy lifted Los Blancos to a 4-8 lead. After Kaya Peker scored inside, Draper went around a double screen for a layup and then Draper stripped McCalebb, who was whistled for an unsportsmanlike foul as he dove for the ball and tripped up his counterpart. Draper missed the resulting free throws, but Begic scored on the ensuing possession for an 8-point edge. Bojan Bogdanovic drew a pair of fouls and netted 2 free throws. McCalebb grabbed an errant pass and showed off his speed for a layup to make it 10-16. Fernandez countered from downtown only to see Bogdanovic match him with a three-point play. The visitors finished the quarter with a highlight as Rudy threw a reverse bounce pass to a cutting Begic for a two-handed jam and a 13-21 lead.

Second quarter: Andersen, Carroll light up the court

Preldzic came on and used a spin move for an easy layup. Andersen also scored inside, but Madrid guards Sergio Rodriguez and Carroll kept the visitors ahead. Ilkan Karaman cut the deficit to 21-25 with a fast-break layup, which resulted in a Madrid timeout. The game moved to a shooting contest between Carroll and Andersen, who swapped triples twice before the latter fed Karaman to make it 29-31. Felipe Reyes took a dish from Carroll to protect the Madrid lead. Rodriguez connected from downtown and a minute later, his steal led to a Carroll layup and Madrid’s first double-digit lead, 29-40. Preldzic got credit for a layup when Marcus Slaughter goaltended. Rodriguez sent Rudy an alley-oop pass for a slam. Savas stemmed the Madrid run with a three-point play and Preldzic was first at the other end for a fast break slam to narrow the gap to 36-42 at halftime.

Third quarter: Madrid’s lead reaches 15, McCalebb and Preldzic carry Fener back

After sitting out the second quarter, Begic came in, scored inside and grabbed a rebound on defense. Mirotic’s basket put the visitors ahead by double figures an Begic’s next basket made it 36-48. Omer Onan came alive with a three-pointer for Fener. However things looked bleak for the hosts as Mirotic and Rudy sandwiched threes around a Rudy slam to make it 41-56. Onan responded with another three and McCalebb got to the basket to trim the deficit to 10. McCalebb and Preldzic added free throws before the forward added a layup to cap an 11-0 run, which prompted a Madrid timeout as the fans in Istanbul started to dance. Carroll ended a three-minute scoring drought with a triple and Rudy made another to push the lead back to 10. However Andersen dropped in a circus shot and the foul to keep the crowd singing. And Romain Sato converted in the paint. Fernandez free throws left the visitors with a 57-66 lead through three quarter.

Fourth quarter: Rudy shines at both ends as Madrid holds on

Slaughter fouled a cutting J.R. Bremer, complained about the call and a was slapped with a technical. Bremer sank the free throws and Onan knocked down his third three of the night on the ensuing possession. Sato brought the crowd to its feet as he drew the hosts within 64-66. Rodriguez answered with a big three-pointer, however McCalebb drove on Slaughter, who was called for goaltending for the second time in the game. Rudy stood tall despite the pressure with a one-handed floater and a reverse layup to leave the visitors up 66-73 midway through the fourth quarter. McCalebb fought his way to the basket only to see Slaughter score an impressive basket at the other end. Rudy made a brilliant block on Onan as the energy in the arena seemed to dissipate. Carroll added a layup for 9-point lead. Onan scored and was fouled, but Slaughter finished a pick-and-roll with Rodriguez by throwing down a viscous slam that seemed to ice the win at 70-79. Even an Onan triple did not threaten the visitors as Slaughter dunked again after an offensive rebound before Rodrigues steal and layup sealed the win.