Chuma Okeke and Trey Lyles gave Los Blancos an extra boost as the team moved to 2-1 on the season
Real Madrid's newcomers made their mark in comfortable win over ASVEL
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 3 of 38
Regular Season
Real MadridRMB
8572
LDLC ASVEL VilleurbanneASV
Overview
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Real Madrid and LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne came into their Round 3 showdown with significant absences. Los Blancos were without Gabriele Procida, Alberto Abalde, Usman Garuba and above all, Theo Maledon, who missed the chance to face his former team. ASVEL, however, was missing three of its most experienced players in Nando De Colo, Thomas Heurtel and Shaquille Harrison. Real adjusted better to its injury situation, which led to an 85-72 victory in which Sergio Scariolo's men led from start to finish.
Andres Feliz ignited Real's strong start with three assists in the opening 2 minutes. From the very beginning of the game, Real managed to stay away from the foul penalty, as ASVEL opted not to get close to the paint in order to avoid going one-on-one against Walter Tavares. The numbers said it all at the end of the first quarter: ASVEL scored its first two-pointer in the sixth minute of the game, hit 2-of-6 three-pointers and 5-of-10 three-pointers without going to the foul line. Real circulated the ball close to perfection in the first quarter, getting 10 assists and just one turnover.
ASVEL stuck to its game plan, opening the floor with three-point shots. On the other hand, Real attacked the rim as much as possible and its aggressiveness paid off, as the guests entered the foul penalty way too early in the two opening quarters. At halftime, Real had hit 14-of-18 free throws, and ASVEL had only been to the foul line once.
Three-point shots kept ASVEL in the game, as the guests were 8 of 21 from beyond the arc at the break. Edwin Jackson had buried all of his three attempts from downtown in the first half. Adjusting its three-point defense was a priority for Real in the second half, as Coach Scariolo pointed out.
"We had some defensive slumps. We are not going to the ball on pull-ups, maybe overhelping in a couple of situations," Scariolo said at halftime. "We definitely have to improve on defense."
Indeed, Real's adjustments worked, as ASVEL hit just 2-of-13 three-pointers (15.4%) after the break. Despite outrebounding Los Blancos 15-23 in the second half, including 11 offensive boards, ASVEL was not effective enough to challenge for the victory. Real ended up getting twice more assists (24) than turnovers (12). On the other hand, ASVEL had more turnovers (14) than assists (11).
A couple of newcomers gave Real an extra boost in this game, as Chuma Okeke and Trey Lyles gave Los Blancos a great mix of effectiveness and intensity. Okeke finished the game with 17 points on perfect shooting, including 4-of-4 three-pointers, 5 rebounds and a PIR of 25. Lyles had an all-around effort with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a PIR of 19. Both Lyles and Okeke played around 18 minutes apiece. There were more good news for Real, as Izan Almansa and Gunars Grinvalds made their EuroLeague debuts with the team.
"I am just going to try to hoop, play hard and get the win. Hopefully I will have plenty more of these," Okeke said after the game, pointing out that Real is gelling really quick. "That's just what happens when you play together, practice together and off the court, hanging together. We are just going to keep building that chemistry and hopefully get some more wins."
"It is easy when you are in the team that shares the ball like we do. Coach has done a good job instilling confidence in us, especially me and Chuma, along with other guys. We are just picking our spots, making shots and making the most out of our opportunities," Lyles said. "We are a new team and still have a lot of guys out but being able to practice and learn one another on the court and off the court is definitely helping. I think it is showing in games like tonight."
Real will now look for a third consecutive victory at home against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade on Wednesday before traveling to the Serbian capital to face Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade on Friday.
