Real Madrid is back to winning in streaks. After registering victories in the opening eight rounds, then suffering a pair of defeats, Madrid is on a new four-game winning run after a 72-82 victory at FC Bayern Munich on Friday night.
Madrid, which leads the EuroLeague in scoring with 89.2 points per game, pulled out the latest victory despite scoring its second-fewest points in a game this season. The fact that Madrid scored more than 82 points on 12 occasions in the first 14 rounds is a special stat in itself, but at Bayern – hurt by a season-high 16 turnovers – the Spanish side was held well below its average.
Against Bayern, more than half of Madrid’s points came by virtue of three-point shots. Los Blancos tied their season high with 15 three-pointers, even though it happened on a season high 34 attempts. But what has played a major role in Madrid’s latest string of victories is better execution of the inside game.
Madrid made 14 of 22 shots (63.6%) inside the arc against Bayern, which means the team’s three games with the highest two-point percentages have all come in the last three rounds: a season-high 68.8% in Round 12 against FC Barcelona Lassa was followed up with 65% on Wednesday against Panathinaikos OPAP Athens.
Madrid was the second-best team in that department last season (55.1%) on the way to winning the EuroLeague crown. It also led the league in the 2016-17 season (56.4%), and was ranked third (53.8%) a season prior to that. Madrid has improved its two-point accuracy to third (57.7%) this season, which is on pace for the club’s second-best single-season percentage ever, only behind the league record 59.2% achieved in the 2002-03 campaign.
Already boasting the best scoring record in the competition, keeping this trend going – with such great balance provided by the three-point shooting threat – is making the defending champs’ offense even more dangerous.