The Spanish giant hardly broke a sweat in an easy victory over its Serbian rival, which sorely missed two key players
Real rolls to emphatic home win over shorthanded Zvezda, 95-72
Real Madrid romped to a 95-72 home rout of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade in Round 5 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, improving its record to 3-2 while the visitors suffered a second straight defeat after winning their opening three games.
It was also a second successive loss for Zvezda against Spanish opposition after last week’s dramatic overtime loss at home to FC Barcelona, 94-98, only this time it was a completely lopsided contest against last season’s EuroLeague runner-up.
Livewire playmaker Facundo Campazzo led the way with 13 points and 6 assists, including a couple of audacious passes through the legs of rival players which had fans at Wizink Center on their feet.
Dzanan Musa paced Real with 17 points, twin towers Eli Ndiaye and Walter Tavares added 12 each and Gabriel Deck chipped in with 10 for the hosts, who fired on all cylinders from start to finish. At the other end, veteran playmaker Milos Teodosic came off the bench to lead Zvezda with 11 points, finishing as the only visiting player in double figures.
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Having center Joel Bolomboy sidelined by a knee injury and guard Nemanja Nedovic preemptively rested to avoid one, Zvezda scored the first 2 points of the game, but Real hit back with a 10-0 run to set the tone for the remainder of the contest. Airtight defense coupled with inspired offense from Campazzo saw Real surge ahead 22-10 in the first quarter, and the lead soared to 46-29 at halftime as the home players kept trapping Zvezda’s guards with aggressive half-court pressure and double teams.
Zvezda fought hard to stay in the game but the best the visitors could do was to slash the deficit to 15 points before Real moved up a gear to lead 67-43 late in the third quarter and then 91-63 in the dying minutes, for the home side’s biggest advantage in this cat-and-mouse contest.
Real, which seems to have found its feet after a wobbly start to the season in Europe’s premier club competition, visits Olympiacos Piraeus next week in a Round 6 blockbuster while Zvezda faces a daunting trip to Zalgiris Kaunas, the regular season’s surprise package after winning four of its opening five games.