Real Madrid downing Brose Baskets 49-59
Real Madrid stayed unbeaten in Group C and joined Panathinaikos atop the standings by downing Brose Baskets 49-59 on the road in Bamberg, Germany on Wednesday night. Real Madrid improved to 3-0 and sits atop the standings while Brose Baskets dropped to 0-3 after registering its second home loss in Group C. Felipe Reyes showed he is recovered from his back problems, as he led the winners with a double-double of 21 points on 8-of-9 two-pointers and 12 rebounds. Charles Smith added 15 for Real Madrid, which was without both Venson Hamilton and star guard Louis Bullock. Nobody scored in double digits for Brose Baskets, as Steffen Hamann led the hosts with 9 points. Even with that, Ademola Okulaja hit a triple for a 31-30 Brose Baskets lead at the half. Real Madrid allowed 18 points in the second half, while Reyes and Smith led the guests to yet another impressive road win.
Bamberg started with Okulaja on the bench with Chris Ensminger in his place. Reyes started the scoring with an inside basket for the guests but Demond Greene, Darren Fenn and Steffen Hamann all drained three-pointers as Bamberg built a 9-4 lead early. Reyes scored his fourth straight basket for Madrid in cutting the deficit to 9-8. Greene hit two foul shots following an intentional foul and the German champions pushed the lead to 15-10 on Mark Dickel's steal and break-away lay-up. But Kerem Tunceri and Alex Hervelle both came off the bench to drain three-pointers in the final minute - Hervelle's at the buzzer - to cut Bamberg's lead to 17-16.
Smith continued the three-point barrage straight off in the second, giving the Spanish powers the lead 17-19. And a Smith driving lay-up made it 17-21 and brought on a Bamberg timeout. But Smith and Tunceri went back-to-back from long range to open a 21-27 gap. Bauermann's Germans worked hard defensively and held Real scoreless on six possessions, knotting the game at 27-27 on Hamann's two foul shots. Herville knocked down a turn-around jumper to stop the drought. And after Dickel and Reyes swapped foul shots, Okulaja gave the hosts the lead 31-30 with a three-pointer with a minute left. And that was the scoreline at the break as Michalis Pelekanos missed a trey at the buzzer.
Fenn knocked down a three-pointer to open the third quarter scoring and a 34-30 lead. And the Spaniards were unable to find any rhythm and didn't score a basket until Lazaros Papadopoulos hit a left-handed hook shot for 34-32 with six minutes left in the period. But Bamberg were unable to take advantage of Madrid's struggles as they went six possessions without scoring and another Smith three-pointer gave Madrid the lead 34-35. Tim Ohlbrecht's dunk pulled the Germans to within 37-39 only to see Real push the margin to 37-42. It could have been more but Madrid missed five of eight foul shots. Hamann's layup made it 39-42, but Reyes scored another inside basket for the 39-44 scoreline going into the fourth.
Reyes continued his superb performance with a jumper to begin the fourth. Another Reyes jumpshot gave Joan Plaza's team a 39-48 advantage, forcing Bauermann to call a timeout with just over seven minutes remaining. Spanish internationals Mumbru and Reyes hit jumpers to increase the lead to 41-52. It was still a 10-point game - 45-55 - on Tunceri's foul shot with three minutes left. Okulaja then missed four straight free throws after two Madrid lane violations. Reyes missed two foul shots of his own but Bamberg couldn't take advantage as they were unable to knock down their three-pointers. Smith's two free throws made it 47-59 with less than a minute remaining. And that's how it ended.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
David Hein, Bamber