Carroll lifts Madrid in 'El Clasico'

In the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague version of El Clasico, Real Madrid thrashed archrival FC Barcelona Lassa 92-65 in the Spanish capital on Thursday. Madrid improved to 10-2 in the standings, while Barcelona lost its third straight game to fall to 6-6. Trey Thompkins led the winners with 17 points, Anthony Randolph added 16, Jaycee Carroll 15 and Edy Tavares 12 for Madrid. Thomas Heurtel paced Barcelona with 16 points and Kevin Pangos scored 11.

A step-back jumper by Sergio Llull and back-to-back three-pointers by Randolph and Fabien Causeur gave Madrid an early 8-2 lead. Ante Tomic and Heurtel stepped up for Barcelona, bringing the visitors within 10-9. Randolph followed a jumper with a triple, but Adam Hanga singlehandedly kept Barcelona as close as 15-14. Randolph followed Llull's coast-to-coast layup with a dunk and struck again from downtown to cause Barcelona to stop the game at 22-15. A jumper by Pierre Oriola fixed the score at 22-17 after 10 minutes. Facu Campazzo provided a highlight with a wild driving layup and Carroll hit a stop-and-pop jumper for a 26-19 Madrid lead. Carroll kept pushing Madrid with a layup, a floater and free throws to make it a double-digit game, 34-23. A dunk by Tavares broke the game open at 38-23 after a 10-0 run. Heurtel tried to change things with consecutive floaters, but Thompkins and Carroll kept Madrid way ahead, 45-28. Carroll buried a three-pointer and Campazzo beat the halftime buzzer with a 23-meter prayer to boost Madrid's margin to 53-30. Causeur finished a three-chance Madrid offense with a layup soon after the break, getting help from Randolph and Gabriel Deck to give the hosts a 60-34 margin. A dunk by Deck prompted made Barcelona call timeout at 64-37. Heurtel and Victor Claver fueled a 0-12 run, which Ronalds Smits capped with a jump hook to give Barcelona hope at 64-49. Deck fired in a corner triple and Tavares made it 69-50 after 30 minutes. Nothing really changed in the fourth quarter, as Madrid started to use longer possessions and kept a safe margin until the final buzzer.

Pivotal performer

Carroll had 15 points in the final eight minutes of the second quarter, hitting 4 of 4 two-point shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers and 4 of 4 free throws. He was scoreless the rest of the way, but Carroll blew up the game at the right time.

Game-changing moment

The final seven minutes of the second quarter decided the game. Carroll scored 11 points in those minutes, Thompkins added 8 and by the time Campazzo hit one of the wildest shots of the year, Madrid led 53-30 at halftime after a 25-7 run.

Stellar stat

Madrid had better shooting percentages all around, hitting 68.8% inside the arc, 38.7% from three-point range and 80% from the foul line. Barcelona hit 51.4% of two-pointers, 30.4% from downtown and 66.7% from the free throw line. Madrid only allowed 4 offensive rebounds, too.

Did you notice?

Madrid honored Pablo Ferrandiz in a pre-game ceremony. A Basketball Hall of Famer, Ferrandiz won four EuroLeague titles as Madrid coach. He was given a signed jersey with his name and age, 90, and a EuroLeague trophy replica. Some of his former players, including Juan Antonio Corbalan, Carlos Sevillano, Rafa Rullan, Vicente Ramos, Cristobal Rodriguez, Clifford Luyk and Emiliano Rodriguez, among others, were present at the ceremony, as well as Madrid president Florentino Perez and current team captains Llull and Felipe Reyes.

Next game

Both teams return to EuroLeague action next week. Barcelona hosts Olympiacos on Tuesday in a rematch of the 1997 and 2010 championship games. A day later, Madrid hosts Panathinaikos OPAP Athens. The two teams combine for 16 EuroLeague titles (Madrid 10, Panathinaikos 6).