Madrid sets milestones and stays unbeaten 115-94 over Sassari

Matching the assist record it set a week ago and scoring its second-highest Euroleauge point total this century, Real Madrid stayed perfect after four games by outgunning Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari 115-94 on Wednesday in Group A. Real Madrid is now 4-0 while Sassari fell to 0-4 in its debut Euroleague season. Jaycee Carroll's four-point play with 12 seconds left boosted his team's total to 115 points, one shy of its Euroleague record this century, 116 against Ovarense of Portugal on December 20, 2000. Madrid's 115 on Wednesday were the most points scored by any Euroleague team in almost seven years since Panathinaikos Athens tied the record of 123. Madrid had scored 112 points a week earlier in beating Nizhny Novgorod at home, with its two-week total of 227 the most in back-to-back Euroleague games without any overtime. Fortitudo Bologna scored 231 back to back with an overtime between January 14 and 22, 2004. Madrid's 33 assists matched its record-breaking total set only a week ago against Nizhny. Felipe Reyes led Madrid's offensive exhibition with 17 points, while Andres Nocioni, Sergio Llull and Jaycee Carroll added 15 each. Gustavo Ayon followed with 14 points, while reigning MVP Sergio Rodriguez dished 12 assists, his Euroleague career high. Six Madrid three-point shooters shared 16 of 26 accuracy from the arc, led by Carroll, who was a perfect 4 for 4. For Sassari, Miroslav Todic had 20 points off the bench, Jerome Dyson 16, Edgar Sosa 15 and David Logan 14. Shane Lawal shined with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks, but the visitors struggled to challenge for the lead after falling behind by double-digits in the first half. Madrid had its best offensive night in 14 years despite missing All-Euroleague guard Rudy Fernandez, who sat out with a finger injury.

Nocioni leads Madrid charge

Both teams scored - Llull off the opening tip, Rakim Sanders with a jumper - within the game's first 20 seconds. Ayon dropped a layup that Dyson bettered with a triple for a 5-6 Sassari lead. After Jonas Maciulis scored on an offensive rebound, Logan bombed from the arc, too. When Maciulis got loose inside, it was 8-8. Lawal put Sassari back ahead, but Nocioni answered with Madrid's first triple and another put-back for a 13-10 lead. Ayon added a breakaway dunk and Llull a high banking layup to stretch the difference to 17-10 as Sassari came up dry on several shots. Maciulis scored again off a miss and Facundo Campazzo with a steal and layup before Brian Sacchetti stopped the bleeding for Sassari with a triple at 21-13. Ayon and Dyson traded layups. Todic scored his first basket to get Sassari within 23-17, but Nocioni answered with 4 of 5 free throws for Madrid's first double-digit lead, 27-17, after 10 minutes.

Carroll helps hosts lengthen lead

Carroll came of Madrid's bench to stick a pair of three-pointers to open the second quarter, but they were almost matched by Lawal's put-back and a triple from Todic. When Rodriguez dropped a shot from the arc, however, Madrid's lead was up to 36-22. Free throws by Dyson knocked and a three-pointer from Sanders sparked Sassari as Todic stole and fed Lawal for a fastbreak dunk, a 36-29 scoreboard and a Madrid timeout. Reyes boosted Madrid with 4 free throws and a tip-in that were offset by layups from Lawal, Dyson and Logan as the score hit 42-35. Ioannis Bourousis made his first basket for Madrid before Reyes went back to the free throw line and hit both shots for a new double-digit advantage, 46-35. Sosa's free throws were answered with a triple for Kelvin Rivers of Madrid, a great feed from Rodriguez to Salah Mejri and another from Carroll to Rivers for a high lead of 53-37. Logan helped Sassari with a triple, but Rivers matched it as Madrid pulled into halftime ahead by 57-42.

Llull blasts off after halftime

Lawal passed inside to Jeff Brooks to resume Sassari's scoring after the break. Maciulis made a similar pass to Ayon for Madrid. The long-range bombers then took over with Logan going deep for a pair of triples that Llull answered one after another to maintain the 15-point difference, 65-50. Llull wasn't done, however, and drilled his third in a row from the arc before Sanders made a driving layup. Back-to-back Madrid dunks by Ayon and Marcus Slaughter were followed by Campazzo's jumper at 75-52. Dyson busted a Madrid zone from downtown, but Campazzo was left open to answer. The scoring cooled for the first time all game until Sosa came back with a triple for Sassari at 78-58. Ayon made a turnaround jumper and Todic scored on a dish from Sosa, who then made a nifty layup, but Ayon answered to keep Madrid up 84-64 after 30 minutes.

Points keep rolling up to the buzzer

Brooks and Todic made layups and Dyson a super-deep triple as Sassari cut the difference to 15 points, 86-71, early in the final quarter. Veteran big men Reyes and Nocioni, the latter with his own three-pointer, mounted Madrid's response for a new lead of 91-71. Nocioni blasted another bomb from the corner as the difference reached 96-71 with 6 minutes left, and the only question left was how high Madrid's score would go. Carroll and Sosa exchanged two-pointers before Sanders and Carroll popped three-pointers and Madrid's total reached three digits, 101-77. Reyes raised that with a three-point play, Slaughter with an inbounds bucket and Rodriguez with a triple. Lawal got a round of applause for a monster dunk before Carroll, with 12 seconds left, drilled a triple, got fouled and hit the free throw to give Madrid it's second-highest total this century as the home fans sang to the finish to honor their still-unbeaten team.