euroleague working day 25
Procedure completed by Real Madrid after the Cup fiasco, which did not take its toll (96-69). Zalgiris barely held out for ten minutes against the merengue meat grinder, who began to win the game when he started running, and started running when he adjusted his defensive rebound. It was then that he dismantled Zalgiris, who likes a more academic basketball, and who is uncomfortable backing down while their rivals advance at full speed.
For this reason, when what the Lithuanians wanted was played, the game was even, and even, after the first quarter, with an advantage on the scoreboard (22-24). Zalgiris took advantage of Brazdeikis’ marksmanship and the rebounds he grabbed in attack to find answers to the Madrid game, supported by Williamm-Goss.
Then it was something else, because Mateo adjusted the defense, his team closed the rebound, Zalgiris began to miss shots, and they ran, after a 23-4 run at the beginning of the second quarter, the equality over the basketball court.
With Musa as a beacon guiding the madridistas, the whites felt comfortable and their rivals very uncomfortable. At halftime, Madrid went 15 points ahead after scoring four in the last three seconds. Mateo called a timeout, Deck entered the basket, scored with a tenth on the clock and received a foul. When he took the shot, Butkevicius bunted the ball before it went in and the play of two made it four (53-38). The second part was a formality. Zalgiris disappeared and Madrid came close to a 30-point lead until the piston came down with the job done.
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