Great victory for the leader before facing the Copa del Rey

Real Madrid brilliantly defeated Unicaja in the match corresponding to the 20th league round, held at the Martín Carpena. It was a game marked by the resilience of our team, which, despite being 17 points down at the end of the first half (56-39) and facing a rival effective from long range, always sought victory. They began to close the gap in the third quarter and, with a remarkable performance from Hezonja (26 points and 35 performance rating), sealed the win in the final quarter. 

The game began with alternating dominance. Our team showed solidity in the paint. Unicaja looked for solutions from the perimeter to counter this. They managed three consecutive three-pointers. Len and Maledon entered and added an extra gear in the attack. Madrid regained dominance. However, the hosts maintained their accuracy from long range in this period (7/11 three-pointers) and ended the quarter with a five-point lead (25-20, min.10).

The madridistas started strong but slowed down in the second quarter. They tried to change the dynamics in the opening minutes, but a lack of shooting precision, combined with the high-paced attack imposed by the Malaga team, resulted in a 12-5 run against them (38-25). Procida (5 points) and Maledon (8 points) closed the gap and attempted to revive the team towards the end. It wasn’t enough. Unicaja went into halftime with the advantage (56-39, min. 20).

The gap starts to close
Real Madrid returned with the intention of changing the script. Hezonja took the lead with three triples, reaching double digits in scoring. Madrid reduced the deficit to nine points, but Unicaja found their key player in James Webb to maintain control. A final push by Garuba and Abalde set the stage for everything to be decided in the last ten minutes (81-73, min.30).

Real Madrid completes the comeback
Unicaja came out strong at the start of the final quarter, relying once again on three-pointers. As always, Madrid fought until the end. Two points from Lyles allowed them to regain the lead after a long time (86-87). The game was closely contested, with shooting accuracy proving to be the determining factor in securing the victory. Hezonja capped off his stellar night with a spectacular final few minutes. The opponent tried to force overtime, but our team defended well in all areas and secured a hard-fought away victory by 92-96 (min. 40). Scariolo's players will face the Malaga team again in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey on Thursday, February 19.

Unicaja-Real Madrid Statistics

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