2019-20Regular SeasonRound 7
November 07, 2019 CET: 19:00
Local time: 19:00 STARK ARENA

Real leaves Belgrade with first road win

Real Madrid used a monster fourth quarter to come from behind and defeat Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 60-75 on Thursday at Stark Arena in the Serbian capital. Sergio Llull tallied 16 points and 5 assists, Rudy Fernandez scored 12 and Walter Tavares posted 10 points, 9 rebounds and a career-high 5 blocks in lifting Real to its first road win of the season. The result pushed Real's record to 4-3 and dropped Zvezda to 2-5. The hosts used a big third quarter to take a 52-49 edge into the fourth, however, Real knocked down 4 three-pointers to start the final stanza and held Zvezda scoreless for more than 5 minutes to take control for good. Billy Baron led Zvezda with 17 points and Lorenzo Brown recorded 14 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

Zvezda controlled the game's pace early with a total of only four shots made in the first 5 minutes, though one of them was a Llull triple that gave Real a 2-7 lead. After the TV timeout, Zvezda got going and tied it on a three-pointer by Lorenzo Brown before James Gist gave the hosts a 9-7 edge. Llull assisted Tavares and split free throws to lift Real to a 9-12 edge after 10 minutes. The Real defense stepped up in the second quarter, playing mostly with the team's second unit, and held Zvezda without a basket for more than 5 minutes, during which Nicolas Laprovittola led a 3-10 run for a 12-22 advantage. Zvezda erased much of its deficit through a Mouhammad Faye jumper, a Baron three-pointer and an Ognjen Kuzmic hook shot that made it 19-22. With the crowd threatening to erupt, Laprovittola sank a three that got Real rolling again and Fernandez also hit from downtown to put the visitors up 22-31. Lorenzo Brown and Baron brought Zvezda back before Llull beat the halftime buzzer with a shot that put Real ahead 27-33 at the break. Facundo Campazzo and Baron traded shots early in the second half. Barron then turned provider on an Ognjen Dobric triple that drew the hosts within 37-41. Tavares made an impact with a dunk on one end and a block on the other, but Borisa Simanic struck from downtown to keep Zvezda close, 40-45, midway through the third quarter. After a TV timeout, Simanic nailed a triple and Lorenzo Brown made free throws to even the score. Faye drained a three in the final minute of the quarter to give Zvezda its first lead since 9-7 and that' how the quarter ended, 52-49. Threes by Fernandez, Fabien Causeur, Llull and Fernandez again, while Zvezda was held scoreless for more than 5 minutes to start the fourth quarter saw Madrid sail in front by 9. Zvezda fought back to 56-61 on a Lorenzo Brown slam only to see shots by Llull and Fernandez give Real a double-digit lead, 58-68, with 2:30 remaining. Causeur soon added a three for a 12-point advantage as the visitors coasted to victory.

Fourth-quarter magic

After struggling from downtown for three quarters, Real erupted in the fourth making 7 of 9. Rudy Fernandez made 3 of those while Fabien Causeur and Sergio Llull netted 2 each. The only one of them to miss was Llull - once. The other missed three in the fourth came from Walter Tavares in the closing seconds; it was the first three-point try by the 2.20-meter center in his EuroLeague career.

Key numbers

Walter Tavares made sure Real owned the paint and he had plenty of help from teenager Usman Garuba with the latter going for 4 points, 8 rebounds and 1 block in 20 minutes. Thanks to their presence, Zvezda shot 12 for 31 on two-pointers (38.7%). Real owned the glass 31-40 and had 11 second-chance points while not allowing Zvezda any.

Standout performer

It's unlikely Crvena Zvezda would have been fighting for the game in the fourth quarter if not for the exploits of Lorenzo Brown, who seems to have found his stride in his first EuroLeague season. He posted 14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks without a single turnover for a performance index rating of 24. Since struggling versus FC Barcelona in Round 4, Brown has averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1 steals for a PIR of 20.

What's next?

Real Madrid faces a stern test next week in Round 8 in el Clasico against its domestic archrival FC Barcelona. Zvezda hosts French champion LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.

Sergio Llull - Real Madrid - EB19
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Euroleague.net
Referees: PATERNICO, CARMELO; MOGULKOC, EMIN; VILIUS, GYTIS
Attendance: 16457
By Quarter1234
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade918258
Real Madrid12211626
End of Quarter1234
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade9275260
Real Madrid12334975
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 KUZMIC, OGNJEN 21:31 4 1/3   2/2 1 2 3     2   1 2 1 1
4 BROWN, LORENZO 37:00 14 3/7 1/3 5/6   6 6 5     2 1 2 7 24
5 PERPEROGLOU, STRATOS 11:05   0/4               2   1 2   -9
9 NENADIC, NEMANJA 2:53 1 0/1   1/2           1   1 1 1 -3
10 LAZIC, BRANKO 5:30           1 1       1   1   1
11 FAYE, MOUHAMMAD 19:58 7 1/1 1/3 2/2 1   1   1 1     1 1 6
12 BARON, BILLY 30:01 17 3/3 3/8 2/2   4 4 4   1     4 6 21
13 DOBRIC, OGNJEN 21:57 5 1/4 1/2   2 3 5 1 1 1   2 1 1 5
15 GIST, JAMES 17:16 6 3/6 0/1 0/2   5 5     2   1   1 3
22 JENKINS, CHARLES 11:34   0/1 0/1                   4   -6
28 SIMANIC, BORISA 21:15 6 0/1 2/3   1 1 2 1             7
50 OJO, MICHAEL DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           2 2 4     2         2
Totals 200:00 60 12/31 8/21 12/16 7 24 31 11 2 12 3 7 18 18 52
        38.7% 38.1% 75%
Head coach: GAVRILOVIC, ANDRIJA
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
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 20:03 8 1/3 2/2     1 1 3 3 2     2 1 10
3 RANDOLPH, ANTHONY 19:29 2 1/2 0/5     2 2           2 1 -3
5 FERNANDEZ, RUDY 20:03 12 0/1 4/7     2 2 1         2 1 10
7 CAMPAZZO, FACUNDO 21:34 6 3/3 0/3     4 4 2 2 1     2 2 10
8 LAPROVITTOLA, NICOLAS 6:10 5 0/1 1/1 2/2       2 1         3 10
14 DECK, GABRIEL 9:58 2 1/2 0/1   1 1 2         1 1 2 2
16 GARUBA, USMAN 20:57 4 2/4     4 4 8   1 1 1   2   9
20 CARROLL, JAYCEE 9:59 4 2/4 0/3     1 1         1 1   -2
22 TAVARES, WALTER 30:11 11 5/7 0/1 1/2 4 5 9       5   2 2 21
23 LLULL, SERGIO 24:32 16 2/9 3/7 3/4   3 3 5   1   1 1 4 13
25 MICKEY, JORDAN 9:42 5 2/2   1/2 2   2     1 1   2 2 6
44 TAYLOR, JEFFERY 7:22     0/1   1 1 2           1    
Team           2 2 4     1         3
Totals 200:00 75 19/38 10/31 7/10 14 26 40 13 7 7 7 3 18 18 89
        50% 32.3% 70%
Head coach: LASO, PABLO

Head Coaches

GAVRILOVIC, ANDRIJA
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade
"I want to congratulate Real Madrid because they played a really good defensive game for 40 minutes. This was our problem tonight. The last quarter is just a result and continuation of their effort on defense, of their pressure, aggressiveness in rebounds, which we paid for in the last 10 minutes. I want to say that I'm happy about the reaction of my team in the third quarter because they were fighting, they raised their defensive level to close to Real Madrid. We had the advantage on the scoreboard, but what I was explaining about the defensive pressure, I think in the end we paid for this."
LASO, PABLO
Real Madrid
"It was a good battle, I think. We didn’t play a very good game, but I think we were able to stay focused the whole time. They made big shots in the third quarter. they came back. We were playing better offense, but our defense cam down a little bit. But we were able to stay focused and I think we played a great final quarter; I think we moved the ball very well between Fabien [Causeur], Rudy [Fernandez] and Sergio [Llull] to get open jumpers. So probably our best quarter was the fourth one, but it was very important the way the rest of the team worked for the previous 30 minutes. We worked hard for 30 minutes, but we didn't play good. And then we shined in the last quarter. It’s a matter of everyone being involved and they were. I think we found the right decision in the fourth quarter, we played better, we had open jumpers and we got a good victory."

Players

LLULL, SERGIO
Real Madrid
"We are happy for the victory, our first win on the road this season. I think that we played a good game. We played good defense, we tried to control the rhythm and on offense, we scored good shots. Here you cannot relax any second. They have a really good team and amazing fans, so they always come back. I think that we played a really good fourth quarter."
TAVARES, WALTER
Real Madrid
"We know it is difficult to play here with their fans and their energy. I think we kept up with the concentration and I think that was the key. We stayed focused on trying to get the win. It is good for us because it is hard to win away. This is good for us because we have lost every game away."