2015-16Top 16Round 14
Real Madrid 83
Khimki Moscow Region 70
April 07, 2016 CET: 20:45
Local time: 20:45 BARCLAYCARD CENTER

Carroll shines as Madrid beats Khimki in showdown for playoff berth

In a do-or-die battle to make it to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague playoffs, Real Madrid locked up fourth place in Top 16 Group F by downing Khimki Moscow Region 83-70 in the Spanish capital on Thursday. Both Madrid and Khimki finished the Top 16 with 7-7 records, but Madrid's two wins against Khimki allowed the reigning Euroleague champion to finish fourth. Madrid will face Fenerbahce Istanbul in the playoffs, while Khimki’s Euroleague campaign has come to an end. Jaycee Carroll led the winners with 23 points on 5-for-8 shooting from downtown. Felipe Reyes added 18 points, Sergio Llull had 11 while Sergio Rodriguez tallied 10 points and 10 assists. Tyrese Rice led Khimki with 24 points - but only 2 of them came after halftime. Petteri Koponen added 13 while James Augustine had 11 for the visitors. It was anybody’s game at halftime, at which point the hosts led 54-49. Llull managed to stop Rice after the break and also contributed on offense to boost Los Blancos' lead to 66-58 after 30 minutes. Back-to-back three-pointers by Carroll and Rodriguez sealed the outcome, 81-66, midway through the fourth quarter, as Khimki never recovered.

First quarter: Run-and-gun show!

Rice got Khimki going with his trademark one-handed floater, but Reyes erased it with a layup and Llull added a dunk off a steal for a 4-2 Madrid lead. Sergey Monya stepped up with a fast break layup and Rice added another floater, but back-to-back three-pointer by an unstoppable Llull gave Madrid a 10-6 margin. Paul Davis buried a mid-range jumper and a fast break layup by Zoran Dragic tied it at 10-10. Rudy Fernandez joined the three-point shootout, but Augustine scored in the low post and an alley-oop layup by Davis restored a 13-14 Khimki lead. Augustine and Reyes exchanged layups and Rice banked in a close jumper for a 3-point Khimki advantage. Reyes fired in a triple and brought the crowd to its feet with a wild four-point play. Fernandez nailed a seven-meter bomb from the top of the key, which prompted the visitors to call timeout at 25-18. Davis rescued Khimki with a layup-plus-foul, which Rice followed with another floater for a 25-23 score. After Rice and Jaycee Carroll exchanged three-pointers, Fernandez made free throws and Rodriguez bettered Petteri Koponen's jumper with a buzzer-beating triple to give Madrid a 33-28 lead after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Carroll keeps Madrid in charge

Carroll shined with a driving layup early in the quarter and soon banked in a one-handed floater that boosted Madrid's lead to 9. Rodriguez found Willy Hernangomez for a reverse dunk, that saw Khimki stop the game at 39-28. An unstoppable Rice picked up a loose ball and went back to bury a three-pointer, and soon added a driving basket to keep his team within 39-33. Madrid called timeout, but Rice insisted from downtown and bettered Carroll's floater with another triple to cut Khimki’s deficit to 2. Shved joined the three-point shootout, but Carroll buried back-to-back shots from beyond the arc for a 47-42 Madrid margin. Hernangomez scored around the basket and a free throw by Reyes made it an 8-point game. Koponen sank a mid-range jumper, but Reyes matched that with a layup. Dragic took over with a three-point play and Augustine added a backdoor layup. Free throws by Josh Boone and Rodriguez fixed the halftime score at 54-49.

Third quarter: A defensive battle!

Gustavo Ayon dunked immediately after the break, as Madrid held Khimki scoreless for three minutes. Meanwhile, Jonas Maciulis buried his trademark corner three-pointer that made it a double-digit game, 59-49. Augustine split free throws and Reyes made both attempts. Koponen buried a six-meter jumper, but Ayon quickly answered with a layup and Llull buried a corner triple to break the game open at 66-52. Khimki could not find the way to the basket, as Rice struggled to organize his team's offense due to Llull's outstanding one-on-one defense. Shved split free throws off a timeout and an alley-oop layup by Davis gave Khimki hope at 66-55. Madrid kept struggling to score and a running three-pointer by Koponen brought the guests within single digits, 66-58.

Fourth quarter: Madrid wins the game, locks playoffs spot

Both teams exchanged missed shots and turnovers for almost two minutes until Carroll took over with a running jumper in the lane. Carroll soon added a bomb from downtown that prompted Khimki to call timeout at 71-58. Rice made free throws and an alley-oop slam by Augustine gave Khimki a bit of hope. Rodriguez stepped up with a six-meter jumper and Andres Nocioni buried a shot in transition to give Madrid some fresh air at 75-62. Koponen nailed a jumper off the dribble, which a red-hot Carroll improved on with a big triple. Koponen insisted with free throws, but Rodriguez struck from downtown to seal the outcome, 81-66, with over four minutes to go. Khimki needed a wild comeback to keep its options alive, but a layup by Reyes made it a 17-point game. Everything was said and done as the Madrid fans celebrated that their team will keep fighting for Turkish Airlines Euroleague glory!

Jaycee Carroll celebrates - Real Madrid - EB15
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Euroleague.net
Referees: CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS; RADOVIC, SRETEN; PATERNICO, CARMELO
Attendance: 11805
By Quarter1234
Real Madrid33211217
Khimki Moscow Region2821912
End of Quarter1234
Real Madrid33546683
Khimki Moscow Region28495870
Real Madrid
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 RIVERS, KC 17:22     0/4     1 1 1 2 1     2   -3
5 FERNANDEZ, RUDY 19:07 8 0/3 2/4 2/2         1 2     3 2 1
6 NOCIONI, ANDRES 21:01 2 1/2 0/4     4 4     1     1 2 1
8 MACIULIS, JONAS 12:39 3   1/1             1     3   -1
9 REYES, FELIPE 24:45 18 4/8 2/4 4/5 3 5 8     1 1 1 2 6 22
13 RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO 22:58 10 1/1 2/5 2/2   4 4 10   2     3 3 19
14 AYON, GUSTAVO 24:44 4 2/5   0/2 1 4 5 3 3   1   2 1 10
20 CARROLL, JAYCEE 22:42 23 4/4 5/8     1 1           2 1 20
22 LIMA, AUGUSTO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
23 LLULL, SERGIO 25:11 11 1/1 3/8     1 1 6 2 1 1   2 1 14
41 HERNANGOMEZ, WILLY 9:30 4 2/3     1 1 2 1           2 8
44 TAYLOR, JEFFERY 0:01                              
Team           1 1 2               2
Totals 200:00 83 15/27 15/38 8/11 6 22 28 21 8 9 3 1 20 18 93
        55.6% 39.5% 72.7%
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
Khimki Moscow Region
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 RICE, TYRESE 31:20 24 5/6 4/6 2/2 1   1 4 2 4   1 2 5 26
1 SHVED, ALEXEY 26:07 6   1/8 3/4   4 4 3 2 2       3 8
3 DRAGIC, ZORAN 16:39 5 2/3 0/1 1/1 1   1     3   1 1 3 2
5 AUGUSTINE, JAMES 29:17 11 5/6   1/2   7 7   1 1     2 1 15
6 BOONE, JOSH 2:05       0/2                 2 1 -3
8 KOPONEN, PETTERI 26:41 13 4/5 1/3 2/2 1 3 4 3   2     3 4 16
9 VIALTSEV, EGOR 8:08     0/3     1 1           2   -4
10 SOKOLOV, DMITRY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11 ILNITSKIY, STANISLAV 5:30                         2   -2
12 MONIA, SERGEY 21:25 2 1/1 0/4   1 3 4   1 3 1   3   -2
33 HONEYCUTT, TYLER 16:25     0/1     5 5 2   2     1   3
40 DAVIS, PAUL 16:23 9 4/7   1/1 1 4 5         1   3 13
Team             2 2               2
Totals 200:00 70 21/28 6/26 10/14 5 29 34 12 6 17 1 3 18 20 74
        75% 23.1% 71.4%
Head coach: IVANOVIC, DUSKO

Head Coaches

LASO, PABLO
Real Madrid
"First of all, congratulations to the team for the win in a game that had turned into a final, in a group which was really tough, with a lot of quality teams. We are talking about the last champions, Final Four teams, Khimki, the way Laboral Kutxa and Brose Baskets competed... it was tough from Day 1. I said before the start of the Top 16 that it was very important to fight for every win. We had home losses, some painful ones in the final seconds, but the team stayed very focused and we managed to stay alive before the last game. We played at home against a good team that also tried to qualify, and I think we played a good game. The first 20 minutes were amazing basketball. People will say there was no defense, but that's just saying; it was amazing. Both teams moved the ball great and we saw incredible basketball. Both teams paid the physical effort in the second half, which is logical, because the first half was outstanding. We were able to adjust some things we prepared, especially on defense, and it worked well for us. Our defensive job was very good in general terms. Rudy did a great job on Shved, Rodriguez with Rice and Koponen, the big men helping... we did a great job. Offensively, I see we took more shots from three-point than from two-point range, but we knew they are a team that changed its defensive style since Dusko Ivanovic's arrival. We had a lot of open shots and I think we could have made some more. We only allowed 5 offensive rebounds and had a very good assist-to-turnover ratio. I am very happy and have to highlight the whole team. We are in the playoffs not just for this win, but for the work we did in the Top 16."
IVANOVIC, DUSKO
Khimki Moscow Region
"First of all, congratulations to Real Madrid. They are the better team; they played with more confidence than we did. I think there are two important moments in this game. Even when we had a bad start, we were in the game throughout the first half. We allowed 33 points in the first quarter, but stayed in the game. From the beginning of the third quarter, we started to play very static, without movement, and we didn't play the way we should. I have to say it is something that surprised me and it is something we have to change for the remainder of the season. We kept our options open at the start of the fourth quarter, but our offense was very poor in the second half, no movement, no vertical game, and playing like that against Madrid is very difficult. Madrid played good defense, but our problem was not their defense, but our offense, with no movement. We circulated the ball much faster in the first half, playing inside and outside fluidly. We started the second half standing within the same meter, nobody moved. It is easy to play defense against that. I don't have the stats, but we took 26 three-point shots, and almost 20 of them were open."

Players

RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO
Real Madrid
"It was a big game for us, a final for the season we are playing, and we are very happy. We are looking forward to playing the playoffs again, for the fourth year in a row. We are focused and ready. We have suffered a lot this season. It was a tough game; Khimki had played a great game against Olympiacos last week. Tyrese Rice had a great first half, but we managed to play great defense after that to win the game. It is what it is - things were easier for us in other years, but the feeling is as good as always."
FERNANDEZ, RUDY
Real Madrid
"It wasn't easy but Madrid always shows its character and thankfully, we can experience another playoffs series. It has been a tough group, you can tell by the number of wins everyone got. It wasn't decided until the very last minute. I am very happy to be here and that we depend on our own chances against Fenerbahce. It has been an atypical season for us. We had a lot of injuries and made a great effort last season to win all the competitions. In the end, we always show our character. We represent Real Madrid and our fans and these games make you a better team."
KOPONEN, PETTERI
Khimki Moscow Region
"Of course, it is a disappointment. We came here to win, but Madrid is a great team and they did their job. Of course, we knew it was going to be hard. We kept fighting in the first half, but they made a break in the second half. They scored a lot of threes and we missed some open shots. You know, this is basketball and we cannot change anything now. We lost games before that could have made us go to the next round, but we cannot change anything anymore. I think we stopped moving the ball and started to be too static, not moving, not playing together. We didn't score the ball, missed some open shots and stopped moving. We scored 70 points which, for us, is not good. Madrid did a good job, they are a great team and this is why they won the Euroleague last year. Like I said, we are disappointed. We wanted to come here and win the game. We won [here] once already this season and knew it was possible, but Madrid did a good job tonight."