The home team spilled a 14-point lead in the final period but managed to come out on top
Real Madrid survives Markus Howard’s fourth-quarter onslaught to beat Baskonia
Izveštaji utakmica
3 Min čitanja
Regular Season
Round 15 of 38
Regular Season
Real MadridRMB
9487
Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-GasteizKBA
Overview
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Real Madrid weathered a late storm to grind out an ultimately comfortable 94-87 home win against fellow Spanish opposition in Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, which threatened to stage a huge upset after its sharpshooter Markus Howard scored 16 of his 22 points in a rollercoaster fourth quarter.
The home team looked in cruise control, leading 76-62 early in the period before Howard unleashed his venom and netted 13 points in just over three minutes, giving Baskonia a 76-77 lead before Real found an extra gear and had the last laugh in a see-saw contest.
It was Real’s fourth successive EuroLeague win, its fifth in the last six meetings with Baskonia and sweet revenge for a 105-100 Spanish League reverse to the same rival last month, as the home team improved to 9-6 while the visitors dropped to 5-10 in Europe’s premier club competition.
Despite shooting a modest 2 of 9 from downtown and committing 9 turnovers, Real was able to carve out a 42-39 lead in the first half thanks to winning the battle of the boards 22-14, as well as forcing Baskonia to make only 4-of-17 long-range shots.
Real pulled away to 58-45 in the third quarter and headed into the fourth with a 71-60 advantage on the back of strong defense, but the hosts looked in danger of ending up on the receiving end after Howard and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who finished on 20 points, caught fire.
However, Real prevailed as Mario Hezonja and Facundo Campazzo stepped up to the plate. Hezonja paced the home team on 17 points while livewire Campazzo racked up 16 and 5 assists, including a deep three down the stretch which ultimately forced Baskonia into submission. Campazzo credited the win to strong defense for much of the contest, as Real racked up 40 rebounds against Baskonia’s 29 and finished on 8 of 19 from long range.
“We played good defense and shared the ball, so it’s a big win for us today,” the Argentine guard said in his post-game comments. ”I hope we have a lot of room to improve though and we know it.”
Head coach Sergio Scariolo lauded Baskonia’s valiant fightback, having singled out Howard and Luwawu-Cabarrot while also praising his team’s depth which eventually made the difference.
“They came back in the fourth quarter and made some unbelievable shots which were well defended, so first of all we have to give them credit for the fightback,” the Italian tactician said. “With players like this, you get punished if you switch off even for a split second but we are a structured team with everyone contributing. We need a bit more consistency as were we were up and down, we made a great start to the third quarter and then in the end we managed to control the game,” Scariolo added.
In Round 16, Real visits EA7 Emporio Armani Milan while Baskonia entertains AS Monaco.
