The 23-year-old forward powered Los Blancos at both ends in a statement defensive win
Usman Garuba sets the tone as Real Madrid routs Barcelona in one-sided El Clásico
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 22 of 38
Regular Season
Real MadridRMB
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FC BarcelonaBAR
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When it comes to El Clásico, predicting the winner is rarely straightforward. Real Madrid and FC Barcelona meet so often that no two matchups feel the same, and recent results only reinforced that uncertainty.
Real Madrid beat Barca 92-101 in Round 3 of the regular season. Then, after Barcelona changed coaches, Xavi Pascual returned to Madrid and watched his team top Los Blancos 100-105 in a road win in the Spanish League earlier this month. This time, the script flipped completely.
Sergio Scariolo's men delivered an emphatic 80-61 victory at Movistar Arena on Friday night, producing arguably their best defensive performance of the season. Usman Garuba was everywhere, anchoring the effort and delivering a near-perfect night for Real Madrid.
Ahead of this Round 22 matchup, Coach Scariolo spoke to the media on Thursday and made his team's priorities clear: defend and rebound.
“Our need to play defense is obvious and, above all, rebound,” Scariolo said. “In Barcelona, we got 14 or 15 more rebounds than them and won. Here, in a Spanish League game, they got 14 or 15 more rebounds than us and won. That has always been the key in these games.”
Once again, he was right.
Real Madrid dominated the glass and turned that control into separation. Los Blancos outrebounded Barca 30-19 through three quarters, building a 63-47 lead. The defensive pressure only intensified in the fourth, when Barcelona finished with zero assists and six turnovers.
By the final horn, Real had 21 assists against 14 turnovers. Barca managed a season-low 9 assists while coughing the ball up 15 times. Kevin Punter, Barcelona’s leading scorer, was held to just 3 points on 0-of-6 shooting.
“We controlled the rebounds, and that seems to be the key in this kind of matchup,” Scariolo said afterward. “We did a great job against their main scorers and first options. From those stops and rebounds, we were able to run and control the game.”
Then came the praise for his X-factor.
“Garuba is playing well since we clarified roles,” Scariolo said. “He gives us a different way of playing, especially defensively. He allows us to guard the pick-and-roll differently than Edy [Tavares]. He’s in a good place, and hopefully he keeps improving.”
Garuba energized the crowd with his intensity, hustle, and physicality – and the box score backed it up. He finished with season highs of 16 points and a 19 performance index rating, missing just one shot and knocking down two three-pointers.
He also drew one of the loudest ovations of the night when he chased a loose ball into the stands late in the third quarter. His grin as he climbed back onto the floor said it all: the game was already decided.
“It was a really tough game against a really good team,” Garuba said. “We’re fighting to keep climbing in the standings, and this was a great win for us. There are a lot of teams competing for home-court advantage, and we have to keep building.”
The blowout win capped an emotional night in Madrid. Before tipoff, Tavares was honored for becoming the EuroLeague’s all-time leading rebounder. He added 6 more boards to that total, along with 11 points and 2 blocks, posting a 20 PIR in fewer than 21 minutes.
Recently retired Fabien Causeur was also courtside, and Real Madrid's fans gave the two-time EuroLeague champion a standing ovation. Causeur spent seven seasons with the club, winning EuroLeague titles in 2018 and 2023.
On the floor, Gabriel Deck hit all four of his three-point attempts to score 12 points, while Mario Hezonja added 12 against his former team.
Barcelona entered the game averaging 87.7 points, shooting 38.4 percent from three, and grabbing 12 offensive rebounds per game. Real held them to season lows across the board: 61 points, 22.2 percent from deep, and just 8 offensive boards.
“It was a surprising game,” Coach Pascual said in his postgame comments. “We practiced well and were playing at a good level, but today everything went wrong. We didn’t control the rebounds, we missed free throws, and we didn’t shoot well. Real played with much better physicality from the beginning.”
For Real, it was the best night of the season so far – routing its biggest rival, honoring past and present contributors, and continuing its momentum. Los Blancos have now won four straight and claimed their sixth consecutive home victory.
They’ll stay in Madrid next week, hosting EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on January 20 and AS Monaco on January 22. Barcelona returns home to face Dubai before traveling to take on LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.
