Madrid extend winning streak

Real Madrid continued their fine start to the season with another victory against UCAM Murcia, their ninth win on the bounce and their fifth in the Liga Endesa, to cement their place at the top of standings, as the Whites remain unbeaten. Chus Mateo’s men managed to come through a testing match in which they struggled until the third quarter. From that point on, the madridistas moved clear in the scoring thanks to a solid defence and collective attacking play to put on another spectacular scoring display with their third game in a row exceeding the 100-point mark. Seven players finished in double-digit scoring in points, with Tavares 18 and Campazzo 14 as the standout performers with 24 and 23 in PIR respectively.
 
This was a stern test for Real Madrid on matchday five of the domestic competition. The two teams began at a high tempo, with the Whites mostly in the lead and UCAM responding from the outside with 4 points from Ennis '5. From there, the Murcia side stepped up a gear and took advantage of Madrid's inability to score to open up a 5-15 lead. Diagne, who racked up 8 points in less than three minutes, spearheaded his team in the first quarter 15-22.

The madridistas hit back
Madrid soon hit back, tightening up in defence, to bring the score back to 22-22, courtesy of a 7-0 run with five points from Causeur. The league leaders began to dominate the proceedings from the back, though they were unable to pull clear against a team that found a way to stay in the game. Deck 7 points stepped up to help the side in offence in a game that was a back-and-forth affair. At that point Campazzo 10 assists at the end of the game opened up the floor for his teammates, especially Tavares in the paint and Musa, to give Chus Mateo's troops a 5-point lead 42-37 going into the half-time break.

After the break, the two sides continued to trade blows. Campazzo kept the Whites on song in attack with six points in less than two minutes, but the contribution of Birgander and Hakanson ensured that the score remained evenly poised. Madrid gradually built up their intensity and found cracks in Murcia's defence, as Campazzo, Tavares and Musa opened up a sizeable gap 61-50; min. 25. From that point on, the Whites stepped up a gear and with Yabusele, Hezonja and Sergio Rodríguez on the court, they produced a spectacular quarter 39-25 that ended with a three-pointer from Causeur on the buzzer.

Another scoring exhibition
Chus Mateo's boys were looking to break the 100-point barrier, as they had already done this week against Anadolu Efes and Dallas. And that was what they did. Hezonja, Causeur, Tavares and Sergio Rodríguez continued their excellent two-point shooting over 70% to leave the score at 106-92. Madrid capped a demanding week with another scoring exhibition in front of their home fans and continue at the top of the league standings with their fifth successive win, their ninth official victory of the season.

REAL MADRID-UCAM MURCIA STATISTICS