Real cooks at home to top ALBA
Real Madrid stayed strong at home in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season by downing ALBA Berlin 85-71 in the Spanish capital on Friday. Real improved to 3-3 in the standings while ALBA dropped to 1-5. Usman Garuba, Sergio Llull and Anthony Randolph led the winners with 12 points apiece. Edy Tavares added 11 for Real. Martin Hermannsson led ALBA with 13 points. Johannes Thiemann, Peyton Siva and Makai Mason each had 10 for the guests. Randolph had 10 points in a 13-2 opening run that allowed Real to get a double-digit lead, 28-14, after 10 minutes. Hermannsson and Mason stepped up in the second quarter to bring ALBA within 42-38 at halftime. Free throws by Thiemann gave ALBA its first and only lead, 53-55, late in the third quarter. An 11-1 run that Llull capped with a big triple helped Real regain a 64-56 margin after 30 minutes. The hosts boosted the difference to 77-63 in the fourth quarter and eventually cruised to a well-deserved win.
Randolph struck twice from downtown, igniting a 13-2 opening run in which he also had a couple of layups. Facu Campazzo took over with a driving layup but Hermannsson and Thiemann brought ALBA a bit closer, 16-7. Jeffery Taylor dunked and three-pointers by Jordan Mickey and Llull broke the game open, 24-9. Tim Schneider followed a triple with a follow-up layup but Llull and Garuba restored a 28-14 Real margin after 10 minutes. Nico Lavoprittola hit a jumper early in the second quarter, then Siva and Hermannsson fueled a 0-6 run which Thiemann capped with a fastbreak layup to pull ALBA within 30-20. Garuba dunked, Siva and Jaycee Carroll traded three-pointers, and a red-hot Hermannsson kept the guests within 35-27. Campazzo fed Tavares for an alley-oop dunk and added a driving layup to boost Real's lead to 41-29. Mason stepped up for ALBA with 8 quick points, including two bombs from beyond the arc, getting his team as close as 42-38 at halftime. A dunk by Tyler Cavanaugh and a triple by Rokas Giedraitis made it a three-point game, 46-43, soon after the break. Cavanaugh downed a three-pointer from the top of the key, Luke Sikma also struck from downtown and an unstoppable Thiemann gave ALBA its first lead of the game, 53-55. Campazzo and Llull tried to change things for Real and Garuba dunked for a 60-56 lead. Llull beat the third-quarter buzzer with a three-pointer that boosted Los Blancos' lead to 64-56 after 30 minutes. Mason and Tavares traded baskets early in the fourth quarter, and a three-pointer by Siva got ALBA within 67-61. Gabriel Deck and Rudy Fernandez helped Real restore a double-digit margin, 71-61, with 7 minutes left. Tavares followed a jumper with a jump hook and a power layup by Garuba sealed the outcome, 77-63, with 4 minutes left, after which ALBA never recovered.
Pivotal performer
Tavares arguably had the best game in this still-young 2019-20 EuroLeague season, finishing the game with 11 points on 5-for-6 two-point shooting. He added 8 rebounds, an assist, a steal and matched his career-high with 4 blocks, amassing a PIR of 20.
Game-changing moment
Free throws by Thiemann gave ALBA its only lead of the game, 53-55. Campazzo and Garuba fueled an 11-1 run that Llull capped with a big three-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer. Real got a 64-56 margin and never looked back after that.
Stellar stat
Real dished 22 assists and limited ALBA to just 14. The guests suffered 20 turnovers, a new season-worst for ALBA. Madrid shot the ball much better inside the arc, hitting 68.8% of its two-point shots (22-of-32) and only allowing ALBA to make 52.6% of its own (20-of-38).
Did you notice?
Real remains undefeated against ALBA after seven games. This was their first showdown since March 2015. Real won three times in Berlin – in 2009, 2012 and 2015 – and will visit the German capital again on February 6, 2020.
Next game
Both teams return from Round 7 action next Thursday. Madrid visits Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade and ALBA plays on the road against Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv.
Friday, November 1, 2019
Euroleague.net