Los Blancos led by 23 at halftime and ended up holding off the Monegasques in the second half en route to a 12-point victory
Facundo Campazzo leads Real Madrid past Monaco for sixth straight win
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 24 of 38
Regular Season
Real MadridRMB
9078
AS MonacoASM
Overview
w
w
w
w
w
l
l
w
w
w
Real Madrid made it six EuroLeague victories in a row on Thursday night, pulling away from AS Monaco for a 90-78 win that also secured the head-to-head tiebreaker.
With the run they’re on, it’s fair to ask: Who can stop Sergio Scariolo’s team right now?
Facundo Campazzo set the tempo from the opening tip, slicing up Monaco’s defense as Los Blancos avenged a five-point loss from Round 18 in the principality. In 25 minutes, the veteran point guard recorded his second double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 assists. His first came, coincidentally, in that earlier loss to Monaco, when he finished with 28 points and 10 assists.
Campazzo’s up-tempo style overwhelmed the visitors early. Real Madrid raced to a 23-9 lead just over seven minutes in and never looked back. Even with Campazzo sitting on 6 points and 5 assists at halftime, Madrid carried a commanding 54-31 advantage into the break.
Monaco showed some life in the third quarter, but every small run seemed to be met with a Campazzo response. Madrid still led 71-53 after 30 minutes, and with Theo Maledon unavailable after the first quarter, the playmaking burden fell squarely on Campazzo’s shoulders.
When Monaco trimmed the deficit to nine at 77-68 late in the fourth, Campazzo showcased his magic once again. After dancing with Elie Okobo on the perimeter, he kicked out to Trey Lyles for a wing three that restored a 14-point cushion and settled the building. Nikola Mirotic answered with a triple of his own, but Campazzo again attacked Okobo off the dribble, finishing through contact to make it 84-71.
From there, Real Madrid leaned on its experience – and its point guard – to close it out, improving to 16-8 on the season.
Lyles led all scorers with 20 points and added 7 rebounds, while Edy Tavares posted a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double. Mario Hezonja chipped in 12 points, and Usman Garuba continued his strong form with 11. The depth of Real Madrid’s offensive options remains daunting for the rest of the league.
Scariolo, however, pointed to one area that still needs attention: free throws. Real Madrid missed 11 from the line, allowing Monaco to linger longer than it should have.
“We missed tons of free throws, and that was probably the main reason we didn’t keep the advantage as big as in the first half,” Scariolo told EuroLeague TV. “This is a championship team – great coach, great players – so we knew they were going to respond.
“We also missed Theo Maledon, who got injured. In those situations, he’s very good at controlling the tempo and attacking the paint, like we did in the first half. In the second half we didn’t attack the paint as well, but our defense held its ground and kept them at a safe distance, which was important for the point difference, too.”
Defense, quietly, has been trending in the right direction for Real Madrid. Over its last three games, it has held FC Barcelona to 61 points, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan to 77, and Monaco to 78.
“If we just continue our defensive energy and effort, we can win games on the road,” Lyles said. “Our next four are on the road, so it’s going to be a big test. We know we can score – we have so many weapons – so it’s going to be about defense.”
That road stretch begins with games against Paris Basketball, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, Dubai Basketball and Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade. Should Real Madrid navigate it successfully, it could find itself right on the heels of league leader Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv, which still has a game in hand.
Campazzo was clear about the bigger picture.
“This was a big win for us,” he said. “This is one of the top teams in the EuroLeague, and we played with a lot of motivation. We want to improve as a team because we want to be in the Final Four and we want to win the title. That’s our goal.”
For Monaco, it was a frustrating end to a double-round week. The club entered at 15-7 and second in the standings but now sits 15-9 and sixth after back-to-back losses.
Monaco will look to reset next Friday at home against Virtus Bologna, hoping for stronger performances from Alpha Diallo, Okobo, Jaron Blossomgame and Kevarrius Hayes after a difficult night in Madrid. Late ejections for Daniel Theis and Mike James summed up the frustration for last season’s runner-up on a night – and a week – they will want to forget about in a hurry.
