Los Blancos' forward has averaged 21.5 points against the Reds this season.
Another outstanding Musa performance against Olympiacos inspired Real Madrid sweep
Dzanan Musa netted a team-high 20 points to lead Real Madrid to a 90-85 victory over Olympiacos Piraeus in Round 23. Los Blancos' forward demonstrated for the second time this season that he enjoys playing against this specific rival, having also led Real Madrid to a 71-77 win in Piraeus in early December. Back in Round 12, Musa scored 23 of his team’s 77 points, including 5 triples made, which is his career best.
On Thursday night, the 24-year-old pulled off another outstanding display, going 4-for-7 both from inside and outside the arc. He also collected 5 rebounds and dished 3 assists in just over 23 minutes on the floor.
Real Madrid started strong and outscored Olympiacos 30-13 in the first quarter, before taking a 52-30 cushion into the second half.
“For us the first 5-7 minutes are the most important of the game,” Musa said after the game. “We’re trying to set the pace and then control the game from that. We did the right thing today and we won the game.”
Los Blancos may have expected a reaction from the Greek side, but they didn’t manage to finish the game off until crunch time. This is where Musa stepped up and nailed back-to-back buckets to make it 86-78 with 1:21 left on the clock. A die-hard Olympiacos cut the difference to 86-83, but Facundo Campazzo, who recorded 12 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 8 drawn fouls, netted a basket from inside and a couple of free throws to put the game to bed.
“We didn’t do a great job on defense in the second half,” Campazzo noted. “We allowed them to score in different ways until the last 2 or 3 minutes. But if we want to fight for big things this season, we have to improve these kinds of situations in the game.”
Having lost 98-74 at AS Monaco last week, Real Madrid managed to get back to winning ways by securing its 11th home victory of the season. Hence, Los Blancos remain the only team in the 2023-24 EuroLeague that has yet to record a home defeat. Having improved to a 20-3 record, the reigning champion hosts LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and then plays away at EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in the upcoming double-round week. Boasting a red-hot Musa, who averages a team-high 13.6 points in 21:27 minutes this season, Real Madrid will look to extend its winning streak to three games.