EuroLeague Round 23: Real Madrid survives Baskonia in late thriller

In another late thriller in the EuroLeague, Real Madrid survived Baskonia (70-69) and is still chasing league leaders Anadolu Efes.

The Basques tied the game with four seconds to go (69-69), seemingly sending the match into overtime.

Yet, Nik Stauskas made the foul on Facundo Campazzo, who sealed the deal for the “Whites” from the free-throw line.

Real Madrid improved to 17-6 and is three wins behind Anadolu Efes. On the other hand, Baskonia lost its sixth straight game on the road and dropped to 8-15.

At the sold-out Zalgirio Arena, Zalgiris Kaunas dominated Olympiacos from the opening tip (94-69) and extended its winning streak in the EuroLeague to three games.

The Lithuanians tied a club record with 14 three-pointers. They also earned their fourth victory in the last five EuroLeague games and keep fighting for the playoffs.

Both teams now have identical records (9-14).

Armani Milano came back from a 13-point deficit early in the fourth quarter (75-88), but ALBA Berlin stood tall and claimed a big road win (96-102).

The Italians cut the deficit to two (91-93), yet the Germans closed the game on a 5-9 run and sealed the deal.

ALBA improved to 8-15, whereas Armani is at 11-12.

ASVEL Villeurbanne put an end to a six-game losing streak and rallied past Bayern Munich at home (75-65).

The French team won for the first time in 2020 to improve to 9-14. For their part, the Bavarians dropped their eighth game out of the last nine to fall to 7-16.

Anadolu Efes edged CSKA Moscow on the road (80-82) and extended its winning streak to eight games.

Efes collected its first win over the Russian powerhouse since February 22, 2013. It was also the first win by Efes this century on CSKA’s court in Moscow, after 10 tries. 

The Turks claimed their 16th win in the last 17 games and remained on top (20-3).

On the other hand, the Muscovites saw their five-game winning streak in the EuroLeague come to an end and dropped to 16-7.