Dzanan Musa and Mario Hezonja combined for 50 points on the night
Real Madrid refused to roll over in comeback win against Crvena Zvezda
Article
3 Minute de lecture
Regular Season
Round 32 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Trailing by 16 points to Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade in the third quarter at home, the Real Madrid players eventually woke up and realized they were representing Real Madrid. They could not accept losing a game in that manner.
Real stormed back behind Dzanan Musa and Mario Hezonja for a thrilling 101-94 victory, which was the team’s fourth straight win.
Neither team had anything to really play for – Real had already clinched first place and Zvezda had already been eliminated from the race for the Play-In Showdown. Still, Zvezda built a 54-70 lead midway through the third quarter.
Real punched back with 13 straight points and would even the game at 75-75. Eventually, Real pulled ahead 86-85 and Hezonja had a big steal and dunk to make it 96-93.
“This shows our character that we want to win all the time. It doesn’t matter if it is a crucial game or something like this,” said Musa, who tallied 30 points.
“We realized that we are Real Madrid and we cannot let that slip away so easily. You cannot come into our house and beat us easily. We were prepared for anything and just wanted to defend our home court.”
A question of concentration and focus
Following Friday night’s triumph, Real improved to 26-6 on the season and 14-2 at home.
“Our team does not want to lose any game. And they made an extra effort. They knew that this game had no importance for the standings. But it was very good how they tried their best,” Real head coach Chus Mateo noted.
“It is not easy to keep the same concentration for every game. We demand them to be ready all the time. This opponent is very good. They have to keep the same concentration from the beginning of September until the end of June. It is not easy. Sometimes there are ups and downs. But most important is the character that we have. And that we are able to come back again.”
Hezonja said the team expects to win every game, even when there’s nothing riding on the fixture.
"We respect all of our rivals, but if we are 100 percent [focused] on the defensive end and we take care of the ball offensively with few turnovers, I think we are a pretty good chance to win the game,” the forward commented.
The win might not have meant anything in the standings, but the fact that Real fought back so quickly shows just how dangerous Real can be.