Madrid strengthen their lead in the league in Malaga

Real Madrid arrived at the Martín Carpena topping the standings and came away with a big win against the second-placed team to strengthen their hopes of finishing first in the Regular Season. Chus Mateo's side, who now have a two-game lead over Unicaja Malaga, prevailed in a game they dominated in the first half and were able to dig deep in the second, enduring the surge from a team that pushed them to the limit. Trailing by three with just a minute and a half to go, our team fought back to record a 0-9. Team play came to the fore once again, with Abalde (9 and 14 PIR), Yabusele (7 and 15), Poirier (10 and 14), Tavares (11 and 15), Musa (19 and 21) and Campazzo (11 and 15) proving very important at different times of the game. 

A month after lifting the 29th Copa del Rey, the team returned to Malaga to defend their lead in the league. Awaiting us was a team that had racked up 19 wins in the last 20 games. A huge challenge for our team, who also had to deal  with the important absences of Sergio Rodriguez, Rudy and Hezonja. But they were fully focused on the task. They slowed down the home team's start, spurred on by Osetkowski's 8 points, and then went straight to work with some serious basketball. They dominated the rebounding in defence and closed down on the paint. They showed great inside-outside balance in attack, led by an outstanding Abalde. The forward did everything: 3 three-pointers without a miss, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 turnovers with 16 PIR in 9 minutes. Musa (7 points) and Tavares (6) joined him to open up a 10-point gap on the scoreboard (10-20, min.7). Two unsportsmanlike fouls, one on Musa after a review, gave Unicaja a boost, and they reduced the deficit at the end of the first quarter (19-24).

Madrid solid 
Unicaja tightened up with a more aggressive game and two surges in the second quarter with Carter playing a key role. Madrid responded with strength in both quarters, however. Disciplined at the back and solid on the offensive end, with a clear superiority in offensive rebounding thanks to Deck and a huge Poirier on the paint. The whole team pulled through a difficult quarter. Alocén, first, and then Campazzo, who scored seven consecutive points, sent Madrid into the break with a +8 lead (40-48).

The momentum shifted at the restart and the game became more equal due to Ibon Navarro's team's success on three-pointers, thanks to Osetkowski's inspired three-pointers. It was more merit of the home team than our defence's shortcomings. Unicaja took the lead (58-55, min.27). But when their percentage dropped, Madrid stepped up to respond with a 0-7 run. Musa's emergence, with 9 points, was crucial in bringing the scoreboard level at the end of the third quarter (64-64).

The leader shows their winning instinct
In the opening minutes of the final quarter, Unicaja took the advantage by doing some damage on the inside with the Thomas-Sima pairing. However, Madrid cancelled it out through strength and offensive rebounding with Yabusele and Poirier displaying muscle with two spectacular dunks. The home side went on the attack again, making it 81-78 with a minute and a half on the clock. But our team showed its DNA and desire to win. Against all odds, they put in an impressive finish. Not conceding a single point to Unicaja and scoring 9. Musa levelled it at 81 with a 2+1 and Campazzo clinched the game. He created an assist for Tavares and in the ensuing defence he stole the ball from Carter and assisted on the counterattack for Deck to slam the ball home. The Argentinian point guard added another basket to make Madrid's lead even greater after 25 games (81-87, min.30).

UNICAJA-REAL MADRID STATISTICS