Real Madrid took a massive step towards getting back to the Final Four with an offensive explosion in racing past Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 95-66 at home for the only 2-0 series lead in this season's Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs.
Real rocks Maccabi for 95-66 win and 2-0 series lead

Real nearly set a EuroLeague Playoffs record for points in a first half with 56 in the first 20 minutes and carried that momentum to a second win. No team has ever come back from a 0-2 deficit to win a best-of-five playoff series. Sergio Llull made 5 three-pointers for 17 points to lead the winners. Vincent Poirier picked up 16 points and 10 rebounds. And Guerschon Yabusele scored 16 points for Real, which took the rebounding battle 41-30 and drained 14 triples. No Maccabi player scored in double figures, with Keenan Evans pacing the visitors with 9 points. Maccabi was able to make just 38.5% of its two-point shot attempts.
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Real head coach Pablo Laso sent out his same starting five from Game 1: Nigel Williams-Goss, Fabien Causeur, Adam Hanga, Yabusele and Walter Tavares. Maccabi play caller Avi Even made one change, with Jalen Reynolds starting inside instead of Ante Zizic alongside Scottie Wilbekin, Keenan Evans, James Nunnally and Derrick Williams. Real tried to get Tavares going right away, and he obliged with the game's first basket. Wilbekin hit from deep to get Maccabi going before Evans converted a three-point play to make it 2-6. The hosts were hot to start from the outside, with Williams-Goss draining 2 triples and Hanga another. Yabusele soon added a tough basket-and-one to put Real up 16-10. Maccabi countered with a triple from Jalen Reynolds and a four-point play from Evans for a 16-18 lead. Real's offensive fireworks continued with Yabusele scoring after three offensive rebounds on a single possession among 8 straight points for a 24-18 cushion. Sergio Llull then came off the bench and drained a trio of triples for a 35-26 Real advantage after 10 minutes.
Williams downed a three-pointer for Maccabi to start the second quarter, but was matched by Anthony Randolph from deep. Williams worked hard to keep the guests close but Poirier collected 7 points, 3 offensive rebounds, a block and an assist on Rudy Fernandez's three-pointer to make Reals margin soar to 50-33. Reynolds made a free throw that snapped a Maccabi scoring drought of more than 4 minutes, only to see Poirier extend the difference to 20 points, 54-34. Nunnally tried to give Maccabi some positivity heading into the locker room with a three-pointer as the score was 56-37 at the break.
Real had the perfect start to the second half with the first 6 points – four of them coming from big men Tavares and Yabusele – before Hanga unleashed a hammer dunk for a 62-37 lead. Maccabi needed more than 3 minutes to finally score before 6 straight points and a triple from Wilbekin trimmed the deficit to 64-44. Yabusele collected 7 more points at the other end before Llull's triple on the third-quarter buzzer meant a 74-48 lead after 30 minutes.
Llull opened the fourth quarter with another three-pointer that Angelo Caloiaro matched for Maccabi, which was looking to finish the game on a high note. Khyri Thomas's three-pointer cut the difference to 79-55 but Real scored the next 4 points and the hosts did not slow down in the closing minutes. The last time these two teams, Real swept Maccabi 3-0 in 2015 on the way to its first EuroLeague title in 20 years. Real will look to do the same when the series resumes with Game 3 on Tuesday in Tel Aviv.