Chus Mateo’s men reaffirm their options to lead the table at the end of the regular season
The Croatian guard scored 30 points and a PIR of 34 in the match
The real Madridon the back of an unleashed Mario Hezonjaconquered Monaco (91-95) and took another step forward in their aspirations to lead this edition of the Euroleague basketball at the end of the regular season.
MON
RMA
LINEUPS
Monaco
(20+26+25+20): Brown (7), Loyd (4), Blossomgame (6), Montiejunas (7), James (23) -quinteto titular-, Moneke (4), Diallo (15), Okobo (16), Hall (6), Ouattara (3).
Real Madrid
(24+26+20+25): Williams-Goss (3), Hezonja (30), Deck (13), Cornelie (2), Tavares (3) -starting five-, Yabusele (9), Poirier (2) , Sergio Rodríguez (2), Causeur (-), Llull (10), Hanga (7), Musa (14).
Referees
Sasa Pukl (ESL), Olegs Latisevs (LET) and Gytis Vilius (LIT). They eliminated Poirier for five fouls.
Due to the importance of what was at stake, the Spanish team came out focused and endured the one-on-one at the start. It was allowed includingor the luxury of signing a partial of 0-5responded immediately by an opponent who remained close despite his absolute ineffectiveness from the perimeter.
In this context, the advantage of Chus Mateo’s men never went beyond the four points with which they left at the end of the first quarter, immediately counteracted when they returned to the floor with a few moments of inspiration from Okobo, who ultimately signed 9 of the 11 initial points of yours in the second ten minutes.
Yabusele did not cower in the opposite ring, who sank everything that fell through his hands to lead his team during that stretch and to whom he took over in a superlative way Mario Hezonja with three triples and three baskets of two, among which only a distant success by Llull slipped through. The host responded to all this until the break (46-50).
DAZN, welcome to the best part
He also did it after passing through the locker room, exhibiting a 12-1 in his coming-out that gave him his biggest income of the clash. It was not the only problem for the visitors since they saw how Tavares and Poirier, two tall men, they were loaded with four personal, leaving even more than a quarter and a half to play.
Despite the adversity, the madridistas managed to get up and connect again thanks to the good perimeter aiming of Llull and Hezonjto. This was transferred at the dawn of the decisive fourth by Deck and Musa, supplying among all the shortage of centimeters in the paint.
What did not decrease were the losses, gasoline for a Monaco that at that point had already put Mike James behind the wheel. Little by little, stealthily, the American was adding and distributing so that the team did not decline.
Thus, in a scenario of equality like the one that existed, tied the game at eighty with five minutes to play, everything was at the mercy of the details. The home team took the lead slightly, but it did no damage while it could and the Spanish re-enlisted, who went to five with another great triple by Hezonja with 1.55 to go.
From then on, the goal was to keep the loot as if it were gold and, if possible, in regulation time to win the basket average. He could have missed it, but surprisingly James gave up shooting from 3-point range with the option. There Monaco squandered an option. And it was not the only one, since Hall later scored trying to throw a free ball on the board. Too many facilities for a Real Madrid that closed an important victory.