Madrid remains unstoppable at the Movistar Arena

Real Madrid continues to climb positions in the EuroLeague with its spectacular home winning streak. Today, they achieved their eleventh consecutive victory, against Valencia Basket, surpassing them in the basket average to move into third place, tied with the second, Olympiacos (20-11). A fantastic performance from Scariolo's team, excelling both in offense, where they achieved 16 three-pointers, 16 offensive rebounds, and 25 assists, and in defense, holding the best attack in the competition to its second-worst mark. Hezonja (16 points and a PIR of 19) led a collective performance where Feliz (17), Tavares (16), Deck (14), Campazzo (11), and Okeke (10) all reached double figures in PIR.

Less scoring than expected at the start of a game that was highly even in the first quarter. Real Madrid and Valencia Basket mirrored each other's statistics. Both relied on offensive rebounds (5 each) and made the same number of three-pointers (3). Tavares (4 points and 6 rebounds) and Hezonja (5) were the most productive for Scariolo's side, who managed to break the tie in these 10 minutes with a basket from Garuba and solid final defense (20-19).

Madrid makes the difference in attack
The lead alternated until midway through the second quarter. Maledon kept Madrid ahead until the 12th minute, but Valencia Basket increased their speed and precision, momentarily destabilizing Madrid's defensive balance. From a basket that should have counted for the home team due to Pradilla grabbing the net, which was not awarded by the referees at 24-23, Valencia followed with three consecutive three-pointers, gaining a +5 lead.

However, our team returned to crashing the offensive boards and slowing the visitors' transition. In attack, they regained effectiveness. Deck and Lyles countered Montero's points, and with the score tied at 38, they sparked the first significant run. Llull, with his 700th three-pointer in the EuroLeague, started a run continued by Hezonja with two more and finished by Feliz with the 31st point in this quarter, a 13-5 run leading to a 51-43 halftime score.

Madrid entered the third quarter determined to break the game open. They were more aggressive defensively, holding Valencia Basket with solid defensive balance and controlling the rebound. The visitors were limited to three-point attempts, which now weren't falling. Abalde (2 three-pointers) and Okeke (7 points and 6 rebounds) propelled Scariolo's team, extending the first-half run to 29-8 and reaching a 67-48 lead in the 25th minute. Puerto rallied his team, and after a controversial personal foul on a Reuvers' three-pointer and a technical foul to Madrid's coach, the lead was reduced to 10 points (75-65, min. 30).

A victory of double value
There was still a game to play, especially against such an in-form opponent as the taronjas. But Madrid would seal it with a spectacular final quarter in both attitude and basketball. They excelled defensively, led by an impenetrable Tavares, who delivered a highlight block on Sako (nearly achieving a double-double with 8 points and 9 rebounds), crushing any sign of a visitor comeback with a series of three-pointers. Five more, for a total of 16 with a 45.7% success rate. Deck, Lyles, Llull, Campazzo, and Hezonja extended the lead to 18 points, a cushion that Madrid managed to also win the basket average from the first-leg game. Additionally, they held the EuroLeague's best attack to 12 points below their average. The Argentine point guard capped a great European night, thrilling the madridista supporters with a behind-the-back pass finished by Garuba (96-79, min. 40).

Real Madrid-Valencia Basket Statistics

Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.