Great comeback and historic win over Red Star
Real Madrid
FinishedEstrella Roja
Real Madrid achieved a record number of wins in the Euroleague Regular Season (26) in a game in which they were 16 points down. Musa and Hezonja had a great game, scoring 50 points between them.
Real Madrid established a new European milestone. This time they beat the record for most wins in the EuroLeague Regular Season (26) with two games remaining, surpassing Fenerbahce's record in 2019. They did it after beating Red Star in a great game at the WiZink Center. They managed to come back from a 16-point deficit in just four minutes and finished off the victory after a frenetic last quarter. The Croatian was key to the victory with a steal and a dunk at the end (20 points and 22 PIR) along with Musa (30 points and 40 PIR). Tavares grabbed a double-double (11 points and 11 rebounds) and Llull completed his 400th Euroleague game.
The Serbian team started better, taking advantage of the opposition's turnovers to score in quick transitions (5-10; min 3). It was then Musa's moment. He turned the momentum around with his 9 almost consecutive points without a miss and 2 rebounds. Little by little Madrid managed to improve their rebounding and defensive intensity. In this way they managed to turn the score around with a 9-0 run thanks to Hezonja, Ndiaye and Yabusele. However, Red Star replied through Nedovic to take the first quarter (20-21), in which Musa finished with 11 points and 14 PIR in less than eight minutes.
Runs in the second quarter
Chus Mateo decided to add fuel to the fire and Llull entered the court for his 400th Euroleague game. The visitors relied on the success of Nedovic (15 points), but it was not enough to stop another Hezonja moment. The forward, with 7 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, took the reins in attack along with Yabusele to make it 35-29 (14'). But Sfairopoulos' men managed to get back into the fight from three-point range to go into the break ahead (44-47).
Red Star moved the ball better and came out more focused after the break. All of this allowed them to make the biggest difference in the game up to that point (48-55; min. 22). Real Madrid could not get through the rival defence, which was able to shut down our big men. Between Ilic (6 points), Hanga (15) and Nedovic (23) they made it +16 (54-70). Chus Mateo's men tried to turn the situation around at all times and managed to do so with a 10-0 run. From then on, the defensive advantage of our team gave us wings on the other side of the court. Led by Sergio Rodríguez, Hezonja, Musa and an immense Yabusele (12 points and 5 rebounds), the game tightened to within 3 points (72-75).
Another great European comeback
Sergio Rodríguez levelled the contest with a three-pointer to make it 75-75. The 16 points had been neutralised in just four minutes, but the opposition didn't want to give the comeback any chance and went all out to make it a +7 difference. As on other European nights, Real Madrid never gave up. At 82-85 with four minutes left, Musa put our team ahead with a spectacular 3+1.
Red Star, who went into the final minute and a half just one point up (92-93), could not believe it. Hezonja and Musa led Madrid and Nedovic and Hanga led their team. The party was also joined by Tavares, who scored a double-double by converting two free throws (39'). With 50 seconds left, Hezonja got a key steal that culminated in a spectacular dunk to make it 96-93. At that point, the WiZink once again carried their team on its shoulders and enjoyed a great comeback on a night when Real Madrid broke the record for most wins in the Regular Phase of the Euroleague.