Tavares, Campazzo and Hezonja were on fire in El Clásico
Real Madrid's terrific trio got the job done at Palau Blaugrana
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Needing a statement victory to clear any doubts about its start to the season, Real Madrid was able to lean on three excellent performances by Walter Tavares, Facundo Campazzo and Mario Hezonja as the 11-time Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion downed FC Barcelona 90-97 in a double-overtime classic on Thursday night.
Real Madrid managed to get its first road win of the season at the sixth time of asking, and it was its terrific trio of Tavares, Campazzo and Hezonja who really put in the hard yards. Together, they combined for 65 of their team's 97 points, 30 of the team's 46 rebounds, and 12 of the team's 22 assists. On a night when they were needed, they stepped up.
In many ways, watching Tavares and Campazzo was a reminder of the way they have dominated the EuroLeague in recent times. And the same can be said for Hezonja, who has been arguably the best forward in Europe since he joined Spain's capital club in 2022. Barcelona simply had no answer for these three, and it was a reminder of just how good Real Madrid can be when its best players rise to the occasion.
One of the many topics leading into the 37th edition of El Clásico this century was Hezonja's situation this past summer, when he was reportedly on the verge of rejoining Barcelona before eventually renewing his contract with Real Madrid. Players are always motivated to play in a game like El Clásico, but for Hezonja there was possibly an extra fire in his belly, with the Croatian netting 15 third-quarter points to help put Los Blancos in front entering the final frame.
Later, it was the heroics of Campazzo and Tavares that helped see Real Madrid over the line, first in the fourth quarter and then in overtime. Come the end of the game, Campazzo had an 18-point, 10-assist double-double and Tavares posted a 24-point, 18-rebound double-double, while Hezonja finished on 23 points.
"It's very fun. Playing a Clásico here in this environment, and also in Madrid, we enjoy it a lot," Campazzo told EuroLeague TV. "It's an extra motivation for us. I think today we had a big game for us [because of] how the season started. In the first half we were a little bit lost, and we were losing by four [points], so it wasn't that much. In the second half we did a great job: solid on defense, passing the ball. I think we did a great job."
With another star, Dzanan Musa, having a surprisingly quiet night with 9 points, all of which came in the first three quarters, Real Madrid was fortunate that it could lean on Campazzo, Tavares and Hezonja against Barcelona. This has not been the start to the season that many envisaged for Real Madrid, but a win in the Clásico is the perfect recipe to get the team back on track.