Real Madrid got back to winning ways at WiZink Center on Friday night by beating Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 72-56. After two consecutive two-point defeats, this victory improves Real's record to 2-2, while Crvena Zvezda remains one of two winless teams in this year's Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Real sinks winless Zvezda, 72-56
Real led from start to finish, having as big as an 18-point lead in the second quarter before Zvezda rallied late in the second and early in the third quarter. But Walter Tavares defensively and Sergio Rodriguez offensively helped Real take control again en route to the victory. Dzanan Musa led the hosts with 13 points, while Gabriel Deck finished with 12 points and Tavares had 10 points plus 6 rebounds. Ben Bentil had 17 points for Zvezda, and Luca Vildoza added 10 points on his debut for the team.
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Real stormed out of the gate, with Sergio Rodriguez orchestrating the team's offense with 5 assists in the first quarter. Gabriel Deck and Petr Cornelie hit a three-pointer apiece, too, in the first quarter. Real had 25-10 at the end of the first, and a triple from Guerschon Yabusele saw Los Blancos take a 31-13 lead early in the seconds. However, John Holland and Luca Vildoza gave Zvezda some life in this game. The visitors cut the deficit to single digits, with the score 39-30 at halftime. After the break, Vildoza was feeding his teammates, and Bentil hit a pair of triple to cut it to 44-42. But Real answered with a 10-0 run, holding the visitors without a single point for more than 5 minutes, with Rodriguez and Musa both seeing shots from deep drop to make it 54-44 going into the fourth. Zvezda refused to go away, however, as Bentil and Hassan Martin cut it to 59-54 with 3:30 to go. But Tavares scored the next five points, sparking a 10-0 run, which put the game to bed.