Madrid beat Munich as Llull makes history

Real Madrid continued their hot streak this season after adding another victory, their 18th in the EuroLeague. The leaders stormed BMW Park against Bayern Munich and equalled their second-best away record in a Regular Season (10). It was a special game for Sergio Llull, who became the player to have made the most appearances in the club's history (1,047). The Whites, under Chus Mateo who earned his 100^th victory as the team’s coach, defeated the Bavarian outfit with a very complete performance and outstanding accuracy in the three-pointers (13 from 26). Poirier hit 18 points and got 23 in PIR; Hezonja, 17 and 20.

After an emotional tribute to Franz Beckenbauer at BMW Park, Real Madrid made a blistering start to the game. Hezonja and Musa led the team (three triples practically in succession) to open up a 6-15 lead (5'). Laso had to call a time-out and then his team began to react, reducing the deficit with an 8-0 run.

Llull breaks appearance record

Chus Mateo then introduced Llull onto the court. The captain further enhanced his legacy by becoming the player with the most appearances in Real Madrid history (1,047). With the introduction of the Spaniard and Yabusele, the Whites made the most of the counterattack and imposed their strength in rebounding to close the first quarter with 18-24.

Both defences upped their game, but the competition leaders coped better and found gaps thanks to the Campazzo-Poirier pairing (25-33, min. 15). Llull spearheaded a fine run from the 6.75 line to build the biggest lead so far (+12). Bayern refused to drop off and stepped up the pace somewhat, but it was not enough. The madridistas dominated all areas of the court (rebounds, assists and hit 8 of 15 in 3 pointers) to go into the break ahead (36-45).

Visitors defend their lead

After the restart, everything continued in the same way as in the first half. The Bavarians sought to close the gap through Booker, but Musa was on top of his game (14 points). Alocén was conducting the play and Tavares was solid at the back (5 rebounds), which prevented the opposition from scoring easily. Fatigue began to set in and the pace eased in a more even third quarter, in which Madrid controlled their lead effectively (53-64).

The remaining 10 minutes saw Bayern go for broke. With two straight three-pointers from Francisco and Weiler-Babb and a 6-0 run, the home side still had plenty to say. Two more three-pointers from Lucic and Francisco made it 65-70 with five minutes to go. But Chus Mateo's team's riposte came soon after courtesy of Poirier and a triple from Abalde. This was all about 3 pointers and Madrid gave Bayern no chance with two more triples from Llull and Hezonja (68-81 min. 37). From then on, the gap became bigger and bigger (+21). The competition leaders sealed another victory to clear the first hurdle in the EuroLeague double-header. The team will be back at the WiZink Center on Thursday, six days after the history-making win over Efes.