Los Blancos set a new club postseason record in scoring by netting 101 points
Real Madrid knocks off Baskonia in Game 2, 101-90
Real Madrid is one victory away from returning to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four after downing Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 101-90 at WiZink Center in Game 2 on Thursday. Real has a 2-0 lead in the series, which now heads to Vitoria-Gasteiz for Game 3 next Wednesday.
Facu Campazzo paced the winners with 24 points and 7 assists. Guerchon Yabusele added 16 points, Sergio Llull had 13 while Gabriel Deck, Walter Tavares and Vincent Poirier each got 10 for Real. Vanja Marinkovic led Baskonia with 20 points. Codi Miller-McInture added 13 while Matt Costello had 10 for the guests.
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A back and forth battle
Costello got Baskonia going with a three-pointer and Nikos Rogkavopoulos also struck from downtown for a 0-6 lead. Mario Hezonja scored around the basket, igniting a 6-0 run that Tavares capped with a dunk. Campazzo bettered Marinkovic's layup with a triple that gave Real its first lead, 9-8. Miller-McIntyre answered from beyond the arc, but Tavares and Hezonja fueled a 9-0 run that gave the hosts an 18-11 margin. Tadas Sedekerskis and Sander Raieste each hit a triple in a 0-8 run that Marinkovic capped with a layup. Hezonja and Howard traded baskets, then Llull's buzzer-beating triple restored a 23-21 Real lead after 10 minutes.
Campazzo keep Real ahead
Poirier took over with an alley-oop dunk early in the second quarter and Llull added a three-pointer to boost Real's advantage to 28-21. Llull erased Howard's triple with a shot of his own from downtown. Howard insisted from beyond the arc, then Sergio Rodriguez found Deck for consecutive layups, making Baskonia call a timeout at 35-27. Sedekerskis matched Poirier's dunk with a put-back layup, Marinkovic buried a three-pointer and Chris Chiozza got Baskonia within 39-37. Poirier took over with another alley-oop dunk, which Campazzo followed with a driving layup. Marinkovic and a red-hot Campazzo traded triples to fix the halftime score at 46-40.
Yabusele takes over
Rogkavopoulos and Yabusele each buried a three-pointer soon after the break, before Marinkovic bettered Tavares's put-back dunk with a three-point play that kept Baskonia within 51-47. Yabusele dunked and Campazzo's three-pointer gave Real fresh air at 56-47. Sedekerskis stepped up for Baskonia and Howard's third triple kept his team within 58-54. Campazzo and Yabusele kept pacing Real, restoring a 65-56 lead. Campazzo buried a corner three-pointer off a timeout and Yabusele dunked in traffic to make Baskonia call a timeout at 70-57. Chiozza struck from beyond the arc, Tavares dunked twice and Maik Kotsar's three-point play kept the guests within 74-63 after 30 minutes.
Real seals it early
Deck buried a triple right at the start of the fourth quarter and Llull added a six-meter jumper to break the game open, 79-63. Deck added a backdoor layup and Rodriguez struck from downtown to cap an 11-0 run, good for an 85-63 Real lead. Costello tried to change things with a three-pointer, then Llull and Rodriguez made it a 23-point game, 89-66. Nothing changed in the final 6 minutes as Real kept a significant lead until the final buzzer to seal a decisive victory. Meanwhile, Baskonia will try to make adjustments in the coming days before it faces another do-or-die showdown in front of its fans.