Real Madrid defeated Maccabi Playtika Tel-Aviv 76-87 at Menora Mivtachim Arena on Tuesday night to sweep the Israeli champs 3-0 and become the first team to claim a ticket to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four in Belgrade.
Real sweeps Maccabi, 76-87, to clinch Final Four berth
The visitors were dominant most of the game, trailing for just 39 seconds and enjoying several double-digit margins. Sergio Llull led the way for Los Blancos with 18 points and 6 assists, while Guerschon Yabusele posted 16 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Vincent Poirier added 14 points and 6 boards and Adam Hanga collected 8 points and 10 rebounds. Scottie Wilbekin was Maccabi’s top scorer with 22 points, James Nunnally chipped in 17 and Ante Zizic contributed 10 in the losing effort.
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Supported by Walter Tavares’s size on defense and by Nigel Williams-Goss and Fabien Causeur on offense, Real raced to a 6-12 edge after 4 minutes. Back-to-back triples by Wilbekin turned the tables and pushed Maccabi ahead 14-13, but the joy didn’t last long for the hosts. A 0-9 run in which Real’s frontcourt had 7 points returned the lead to Los Blancos, 14-22, in a blink of an eye. Maccabi broke the trend from the line and prevented Real from escaping and closed the first quarter trailing 20-22 behind a strong dunk by Jalen Reynolds.
Alberto Abalde made a three and Llull provided a three-point play that got Real up 24-31 right after the game resumed. Reynolds showed up from three as well, but he got an immediate answer from Fernandez, starting a period in which both squads exchanged blows on each side. Llull and Yabusele chained together a couple of fastbreaks to change the trend, igniting a 0-9 run that extended the advantage to double-digits, 34-48. Derrick Williams and Zizic reacted and helped Maccabi keep Real in sight, 41-51, at halftime.
Nunnally and Angelo Caloiaro got the fans on their feet with 5 points in a row that got Maccabi within 46-51. Williams-Goss cooled it down with an off-the-glass buzzer-beating three, but the hosts kept pushing and trimmed the difference to 50-54 soon after. Real kept its poise despite Tavares’s fourth foul and retained a 51-60 lead midway through the third quarter. The hosts didn’t give up, though, and managed to stay into the game thanks to Reynolds, who brought his team within 59-64. Llull and Poirier took over then to rebuild a 61-69 edge that the former turned into a deep hole, 61-73, after a 4-point play to finish the third quarter.
Even though Williams tried to regroup his team, the visitors found no trouble to protect a double-digit lead, 66-77, early in the fourth. Yabusele contributed a couple of free throws and Abalde drilled a jumper that seemed to bury the home team, 66-81, with 6 minutes remaining. Maccabi was with its back to the wall and despite Wilbekin and Nunnally’s efforts, the visitors didn’t allow them a chance. Poirier scored twice inside to keep a 71-85 margin with 4 minutes to go, as the hosts wasted 6 of their last 8 field goal attempts and opened the door for Real to another Final Four.