2019-20Regular SeasonRound 11
November 29, 2019 CET: 18:00
Local time: 20:00 SIBUR ARENA

Real holds off Zenit's comeback

Real Madrid recorded its sixth consecutive win of the regular season by downing host Zenit St Petersburg 71-86 at Sibur Arena on Friday. Real improved to 8-3 in the standings while Zenit dropped to 2-9 and is now on a six-game losing streak. Facu Campazzo led the winners with 19 points. Gabriel Deck added 15, Rudy Fernandez and Fabien Causeur each had 11 while Edy Tavares pulled down 12 rebounds for Real. Gustavo Ayon led Zenit with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Evgeny Voronov added 17 points, Will Thomas 13 and Mateusz Ponitka 10 for the hosts. Campazzo scored Real's first 8 points. He got help from Causeur and Tavares to keep Real ahead 19-22 after 10 minutes. Zenit found a go-to guy in Ayon, who allowed the hosts to get a 33-31 lead late in the first half. A rain of three-pointers, mainly from Jaycee Carroll, and an outstanding Jordan Mickey allowed Real to take a 37-44 margin at halftime. A layup by Deck made it a 20-point game, 37-57, soon after that, but Thomas, Voronov and Ayon pulled Zenit to within 64-69 midway through the fourth quarter. Deck and Fernandez stepped up in crunch time, allowing Real to seal the outcome.

Campazzo got Real going with a couple of three-pointers and soon added an acrobatic reverse layup for a 3-8 lead. Thomas answered from downtown and Colton Iverson added a tip-in for Zenit, but Real continued dominating the boards and Deck kept the guests ahead, 8-13. Tavares followed a dunk with a layup but Thomas and Ayon brought the hosts a bit closer at 14-17. Causeur stepped up with a floating layup and a bomb from downtown but Ayon scored again and Ponitka buried a triple that kept Zenit within 19-22 after 10 minutes. A layup by Anthony Randolph and a wild four-point play by Trey Thompkins boosted Los Blancos' margin to 22-28 early in the second quarter. Andrew Albicy answered from beyond the arc to ignite a 9-0 run in which Ayon downed a couple of jumpers to give Zenit its first lead, 31-28. Real found answers from downtown, as Fernandez and Nico Laprovittola each hit a three-pointer, and Carroll hit twice from the same distance for a 33-40 score. Mickey scored twice in the paint to keep Real way ahead, 37-44, at halftime. The rain of three-pointers continued after the break, as Causeur and Campazzo each struck from deep at 37-52. Causeur insisted from beyond the arc and Deck added a layup that made it a 20-point game, 37-57. Ayon tried to change things for Zenit, getting help from Voronov and Thomas to give the hosts hope at 47-59. Voronov struck from downtown and Ayon added a jump hook at 52-61. Ponitka banked in a close shot but Campazzo answered with a layup and Fernandez beat the third-quarter buzzer with a long triple that gave Real fresh air, 56-66, after 30 minutes. Thompkins downed a rainbow three-pointer early in the fourth quarter but Thomas had 4 points in an 8-0 run which Austin Hollins capped with a layup that brought Zenit back in the game, 64-69, with 6 minutes left. Deck scored in the low post and Fernandez added a triple that gave Real breathing room at 64-74. Real improved its defense in the final minutes as Tavares owned the boards while Campazzo and Deck sealed the outcome down the stretch.

Pivotal performer

Once again, Deck did a little bit of everything to make sure Real returned to the Spanish capital with a road win. He finished the game with 15 points on 3-of-6 two-point, 1-of-2 three-point and 6-of-7 free-throw shooting, adding 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 7 fouls drawn for a game-best PIR of 25.

Game-changing moment

Real led almost all the way but Zenit managed to get within 64-69 with 6 minutes remaining. Deck scored a big basket in the low post, then Fernandez buried his third three-pointer of the night in a 0-7 run that made it 64-76 as Zenit struggled to score late in the game.

Stellar stat

Three-point shots made the difference in the game. Zenit only made 35% of its attempts from downtown, 7 of 20, and Real buried as many as 15 of 33, or 45.5%. Those 15 three-pointers were Real's best mark in 2019. It last scored 15 shots from downtown against FC Bayern Munich on December 21, 2018.

Did you notice?

Tavares lived to his reputation as a defensive wall. For the third time in his EuroLeague career, Tavares reached double digits in defensive rebounds, pulling down 10 to match his career-best effort. Tavares added 3 blocks to round a great night under his own rim. Tavares had 3 blocks in the first five games of the season (0.6 bpg.) but has had 19 in the next six (3.2 bpg.).

Next game

In Round 12, Madrid hosts Valencia Basket in an all-Spanish showdown on Thursday. A day later, Zenit welcomes LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.

Facundo Campazzo - Real Madrid - EB19
Friday, November 29, 2019
Euroleague.net
Referees: CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS; PETEK, SASO; PANTHER, ANNE
Attendance: 6184
By Quarter1234
Zenit St Petersburg19181915
Real Madrid22222220
End of Quarter1234
Zenit St Petersburg19375671
Real Madrid22446686
Zenit St Petersburg
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 IVERSON, COLTON 8:04 2 1/3     2 1 3         1 1   1
6 ALBICY, ANDREW 23:36 7 1/2 1/2 2/3   2 2 5 1 1     3 3 11
7 PONKRASHOV, ANTON 11:47   0/2           1     1   1 1  
9 HOLLINS, AUSTIN 25:17 2 1/5 0/3     1 1 2 1 1     3   -5
10 THOMAS, WILL 31:51 13 5/6 1/2   4 5 9 1 1       2   20
12 RENFROE, ALEX 16:24   0/1 0/3         4 2 1     2   -1
13 KHVOSTOV, DMITRY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
16 TRUSHKIN, VLADISLAV 4:13 2 1/1                         2
18 VORONOV, EVGENY 18:04 17 4/7 3/5 0/1 1   1 1   1     3 5 14
21 ABROMAITIS, TIM 11:56   0/2 0/1   1 6 7       1   1   4
25 PONITKA, MATEUSZ 22:42 10 2/3 2/4     1 1 2 1 1     2 1 9
34 AYON, GUSTAVO 26:06 18 9/19   0/1 5 5 10 1   4 1 3 2 3 13
Team           2 1 3               3
Totals 200:00 71 24/51 7/20 2/5 15 22 37 17 6 9 3 4 20 13 71
        47.1% 35% 40%
Head coach: PLAZA, JOAN
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 19:34 11 1/2 3/5     1 1 2 1 2     3 2 9
3 RANDOLPH, ANTHONY 18:25 4 2/4 0/2     1 1     2     1 1 -1
5 FERNANDEZ, RUDY 18:45 11 1/2 3/8     2 2 3     1     1 12
7 CAMPAZZO, FACUNDO 30:55 19 3/3 3/8 4/4 1   1 6 2 3     1 3 22
8 LAPROVITTOLA, NICOLAS 8:54 3   1/1     2 2     1     3   1
14 DECK, GABRIEL 27:39 15 3/6 1/2 6/7 2 6 8 2       2   7 25
16 GARUBA, USMAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
20 CARROLL, JAYCEE 10:33 6 0/2 2/3     1 1 1   1     1 2 5
22 TAVARES, WALTER 29:03 6 2/3   2/2 2 10 12 3 1 1 3   2 1 22
25 MICKEY, JORDAN 10:54 4 2/5   0/1 3 1 4           1 1 4
33 THOMPKINS, TREY 21:35 7 0/3 2/4 1/1 2 3 5         1 1 2 7
44 TAYLOR, JEFFERY 3:43                              
Team           2 1 3               3
Totals 200:00 86 14/30 15/33 13/15 12 28 40 17 4 10 4 3 13 20 109
        46.7% 45.5% 86.7%
Head coach: LASO, PABLO

Head Coaches

PLAZA, JOAN
Zenit St Petersburg
"Well, the first thing that we need to understand is that when you play against a great team like Real Madrid, the [runs] can send you out of the game. One of the things we talked with the players before the game was trying to avoid these [runs]. When they scored 3 threes in a row, or they run the fastbreak three consecutive times, or they have 2 or 3 steals in a row, that leads them into these [runs] that can break the game. But I am proud of my players because they didn't give up. There were two times in which Real could have totally broke the game and we came back, first within two points and the second time, within five but missing some easy buckets. In any case, the team showed character, that we compete even against a great team like this."
LASO, PABLO
Real Madrid
"I think it was very important what Tavares did close to the basket, the way he dominated, rebounded and controlled the situation where they attack very well. They are good on the offensive board and I think he was able to contest almost everything. After that, we were able to have some good rhythm offensively. We knew we were going to have a lot of open three-point shots and that is what we got. Our percentage was good but we even missed some easy shots. I think it was a good team effort and a good victory, a good result. It is always difficult to win in the EuroLeague away from home. We started very well in the third quarter and got a big lead, but we knew they were going to come back. I think we made some mistakes, but we had open shots and didn't make them. We don't only have to focus on our mistakes, but also on our details defensively where we got hurt. Of course, we know there is a long way to go for the most important games and the most important minutes, but I think we stayed pretty focused and got a good victory tonight."

Players

HOLLINS, AUSTIN
Zenit St Petersburg
"It was a tough match. I think we had a chance to win, but Real Madrid is a good team. They benefited from our little mistakes. We must give them their due; they played very well. They scored some points from our mistakes, and they also ran a quick attack, shooting well from long distance. We missed several rebounds, especially on offense. These are small details in which we need to get better and not let the opponents do them. In any case, we should not give up. We need to return to practice, prepare and continue to work."
FERNANDEZ, RUDY
Real Madrid
"I think we were aggressive in the third quarter and played very good in both halves, so we are happy about this victory away from our arena. I think every player contributed to this victory. We played together on defense and selected the best shots. I think it is a good way to play in the EuroLeague."
TAVARES, WALTER
Real Madrid
"I just tried to help my team and do the best I can on defense. That is my first thing to do on the game. In the end, on offense, they carried on, but I just want to play hard and play aggressive. We stayed focused and kept going, because we knew we played away and they were home with their crowd. We had to stay focused and I think we did. That helped us win the game."