2020-21Regular SeasonRound 16
Real Madrid 91
ALBA Berlin 62
December 22, 2020 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 WIZINK CENTER

Real thrashes ALBA in Madrid

Real Madrid got its 10th victory in its last 11 EuroLeague games by beating ALBA Berlin 91-62 in the Spanish capital on Tuesday. The no-doubt-about-it win lifted Real's regular-season record to 11-5 while ALBA dropped to 6-9. Real led 19-18 after 10 minutes and took off after that, extending its margin to 45-30 at halftime and then to 72-44 at the end of the third quarter to seal the outcome. Edy Tavares led Madrid with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Usman Garuba added 15 points and Fabien Causeur scored 10 for Real. ALBA got 13 points apiece from Maodo Lo and Luke Sikma.

Sikma and Tavares traded jump hooks to get their respective teams going. Jayson Granger hit a jumper, which Garuba bettered with a corner triple for a 5-4 Real lead. Neils Giffey and Johannes Thiemann each scored around the basket, but Jeffery Taylor tied it with a three-pointer. Garuba struck from beyond the arc and Tavares added a put-back basket, but Thiemann downed back-to-back triples for a 13-14 ALBA edge. Nico Laprovitolla and Garuba rescued Real and Taylor scored in penetration for a 19-18 lead after 10 minutes. Causeur took over with a driving layup and found Sergio Llull for a rainbow three-pointer. Llull scored in penetration, but Louis Olinde hit a three-pointer to make it 26-21. Trey Thompkins scored twice down low and Causeur buried back-to-back triples to make it a double-digit game. Olinde kept pushing ALBA with a tip-in, but Rudy Fernandez struck from downtown and Tavares added a wild alley-oop slam to break the game open, 41-26. Lo cut ALBA's deficit to 45-30 at halftime.

Giffey buried a jumper soon after the break and Granger erased Tavares's floater with a driving layup. Jaycee Carroll downed consecutive three-pointers and got help from Laprovittola and Tavares to boost the hosts' lead to 63-36. Sikma struck from downtown, but Garuba dunked twice for a 67-39 Real margin. Laprovittola buried a triple and Tavares scored in the paint. Lo kept ALBA within 72-44 after 30 minutes. ALBA kept struggling to score early in the fourth quarter and Gabriel Deck and Taylor kept Real way ahead, 76-49. Little changed in the final 6 minutes as Real cruised to a well-deserved win.

Pivotal performer

Since he's developed an effective offensive game, Tavares has become one of the best players in the competition and proved it again on this night. He finished the game with 16 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth consecutive double-double, adding an assist, 3 steals and a block for a PIR of 27.

Game-changing moment

ALBA came within 26-21 on a three-pointer by Olinde. Real found its flow on offense as Thompkins scored twice in the paint, Causeur downed a couple of three-pointers, Fernandez also struck from beyond the arc and Tavares added a big alley-oop dunk. All of a sudden, Real led 41-26 and there was no way back for the German champs.

Stellar stat

Real outrebounded ALBA 39-23 with 11 offensive boards. It also dished 26 assists - 10 more than its opponents. Real made 20 of 29 two-pointers (69.0%); ALBA took more two-point shots (34) and made fewer baskets (16), which led to a much-worse percentage (47.1%).

Did you know?

Real remained undefeated at home against ALBA with eight wins in as many games in the Spanish capital. Real is also on an 11-game winning streak against the German champs, whose last victory against Los Blancos came in November 1999.

Next game

Both teams return to EuroLeague action next week on Tuesday, December 29. Real visits Anadolu Efes Istanbul. ALBA hosts Zalgiris Kaunas.

Walter Tavares - Real Madrid - EB20
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Euroleague.net
Referees: CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS; DIFALLAH, MEHDI; TRAWICKI, TOMASZ
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234
Real Madrid19262719
ALBA Berlin18121418
End of Quarter1234
Real Madrid19457291
ALBA Berlin18304462
Real Madrid
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 CAUSEUR, FABIEN 10:34 10 2/2 2/3     2 2 3           1 15
5 FERNANDEZ, RUDY 6:40 3   1/1     2 2 1           1 7
6 ABALDE, ALBERTO 19:26     0/1     2 2 6   1       1 7
8 LAPROVITTOLA, NICOLAS 21:44 8   2/5 2/2 1 3 4 2 1 1     1 3 13
12 ALOCEN, CARLOS 6:30 2 1/1               1     1    
14 DECK, GABRIEL 15:06 7 2/3 1/2     1 1 3   3     1 1 6
16 GARUBA, USMAN 28:33 15 3/4 3/3   2 4 6 3 1 2 2     1 25
20 CARROLL, JAYCEE 13:30 9   3/6     1 1 1 1 2     1   6
22 TAVARES, WALTER 22:55 16 6/10   4/4 6 5 11 1 3 2 1   2 3 27
23 LLULL, SERGIO 18:16 8 1/2 2/3     4 4 5 1       1   15
33 THOMPKINS, TREY 13:26 4 2/4 0/2     3 3     1 1   3    
44 TAYLOR, JEFFERY 23:20 9 3/3 1/6   2   2 1 1 1     2   5
Team             1 1     1          
Totals 200:00 91 20/29 15/32 6/6 11 28 39 26 8 15 4 0 12 11 126
        69% 46.9% 100%
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
ALBA Berlin
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 LO, MAODO 22:32 13 4/5 1/3 2/2       2   2       2 12
5 GIFFEY, NIELS 23:28 5 2/6 0/2 1/2 1 1 2   1 2     2 1 -2
6 DELOW, MALTE 17:02 2 1/3     2   2 1   2     3 1 -1
9 MATTISSECK, JONAS 16:07 3   1/3     1 1 3   1     1 2 5
10 SCHNEIDER, TIM 7:57   0/2 0/1                 1     -4
16 NIKIC, KRESIMIR 3:11 2 1/1                       1 3
19 OLINDE, LOUIS 22:02 7 2/4 1/4   2 1 3 1 2 1     2 1 6
20 FONTECCHIO, SIMONE 16:36 3 0/2 1/2     2 2         1     1
32 THIEMANN, JOHANNES 20:37 8 1/2 2/4     2 2 4         1 2 12
33 GRANGER, JAYSON 23:31 6 3/3 0/3     3 3 3 1 1     1 2 10
43 SIKMA, LUKE 26:57 13 2/6 3/6   3 4 7 2 3 4   2 1   11
Team           1   1     1          
Totals 200:00 62 16/34 9/28 3/4 9 14 23 16 7 14 0 4 11 12 53
        47.1% 32.1% 75%
Head coach: GARCIA RENESES, AITO

Head Coaches

LASO, PABLO
Real Madrid
"First of all, congratulations to the team for the victory which, in a way, we would like to dedicate to Anthony [Randolph]. When a player has such a severe injury, we showed that the team was able to immediately move on and offer him a good victory. That speaks well about the whole team, everyone was able to contribute and bring in players, little by little, into the game added new things. I am happy about how the whole team was able to adjust to a situation that we predicted to be complicated, because we came off a week on the road with difficult games. In general terms, we were very focused, played well and got a lead that we were able to consolidate during the game. I am very happy for the win, ALBA came off a streak of good results and it is always a difficult team, so I am happy. I cannot say anything new about Usman Garuba's energy because he brings it every day. Obviously, he is a young player with a lot of room for improvement and we have a lot of confidence in what he can give us. It doesn't matter if he is on the court for 1 or 30 minutes, he will bring his energy. He hit his shots today and played well in zone defense situations which could have been tougher. He was his most focused game on defense and offense and that made him get better numbers. I am very happy for his game, but the rest of the team was at the same level."
GARCIA RENESES, AITO
ALBA Berlin
"Congratulations to Real Madrid, they played a good game with very good shooting percentages in one-, two- and three-pointers and a lot of rebounding abilities. It was a little bit too difficult for us, but we took advantage of this game to do some things that we are interested in practicing and this is the only way to practice them: in games. We have to keep bringing back players and try to do better every game. Tonight, they were clearly better and we could say that from the beginning until the end. It is very difficult to play the competitions that we play. In Real's case, playing the Spanish League and the EuroLeague is really difficult. You have to be physically and mentally ready every time and it is logical to have ups and downs, all teams have them. I see Real well, playing very fluid."

Players

GARUBA, USMAN
Real Madrid
"All games are tough in the EuroLeague and we had to work from the beginning to get the win. As always, we have to keep working. In the EuroLeague, you have good days and bad ones for all teams and tonight, we got the win. We all have confidence and are happy for the win. We have good vibes, good chemistry, and want to keep it during the season. We have to step up to help the team get better and win games. It is true that three-point shots were not going, in but I kept shooting and when you try hard, you finally get it. I have practiced it more than most people think."
TAVARES, WALTER
Real Madrid
"I am just trying to get better every day and help the team, trying to do my job on defense, which is the most important for me, and that's it."
CAUSEUR, FABIEN
Real Madrid
"Against a team like ALBA, that is playing with a lot of reads, a lot of trick plays, you have to be focused, especially on defense. I think we were focused for 40 minutes and then we were able to run the floor and enjoy, especially in the last three quarters. I think we played a very solid game."