Real Madrid secured post-season spot with win
Real Madrid had to battle until the final minute to beat Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 106-101 at home in Round 24. By doing so, Los Blancos clinched a postseason berth.
The victory means Real has secured a top 10 finish at the end of the regular season, meaning that it has already qualified for the new Play-In Showdown. Real leads the standings with a 21-3 record, is five victories ahead of second place, and it looks to be only like a matter of time before it secures a playoff spot with a top-six finish, and the home-court advantage in the playoffs with a top-four finish.
Real's main strength has been protecting its home court. Los Blancos are 12-0 at home this season and have not lost a EuroLeague game at home since last season's playoff series against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade. This time, it had to fight harder than expected. Even though Maccabi did not lead in the entire game, it managed to get within striking distance several times.
Wade Baldwin and Lorenzo Brown brought Maccabi within 100-98 with a little more than a minute left. When Mario Hezonja missed at the other end, Vincent Poirier fixed it with a put-back slam, then Dzanan Musa made a pair of free throws for a 104-98 score with 24.6 seconds left. Baldwin buried a big three-pointer but Hezonja sealed the outcome from the foul line.
"We have help from our fans. We feel comfortable at home. We're comfortable sleeping in our beds before the game. I think that is the most important thing, to protect our home court," Musa said after the game. "That's one of the reasons why we are first in the EuroLeague, but we have to continue doing this job."
Musa finished the game with 19 points on 4-of-4 two-point shooting and 11-of-12 on free throws. Poirier stepped up again in Edy Tavares's absence with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. The duo combined for a PIR of 54.
"We fought until the end. It was a tough game, they came back but we stayed strong. We played at home, so that's what we need to do all season long," Poirier said. "We need to be aggressive. We play at home and need to play defense and do it aggressively, control the rebound and then we just need to run. When we run, we play great. That's the mentality we need to have in each game."
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Asked about Tavares, Poirier agreed with everyone else: he is definitely missed.
"I miss Edy! Edy changes the games every time he is on the court. We know it is way much harder for the opposite team, but I try to do my best and hopefully, he is coming back soon."
Added to its strength at home, Real is also the only team with a positive record on the road: 9-3. In other words, Los Blancos are completing a near-perfect regular season and by mathematically making it to the Play-In Showdown, have taken another step to the ultimate goal: getting to the Final Four for a chance to win its 12th EuroLeague title.