Real Madrid claims 12th straight EuroLeague win to remain on top
Real Madrid earned another victory in the EuroLeague (77-87 against ASVEL Villeurbanne) and extended its unbeaten record to 12 games.
Despite playing without five key players (Gabriel Deck, Jaycee Carroll, Felipe Reyes, Anthony Randolph, Sergio Llull), the “Whites” led for the majority of the night and cruised to the victory.
This was the 12th consecutive win for Real Madrid in the EuroLeague (14-3). On the other hand, ASVEL dropped to 8-9.
At the same time, the first round of the EuroLeague came to an end with another four games.
In a classic derby between two EuroLeague powerhouses, Panathinaikos survived CSKA Moscow in an overtime thriller in Kaliningrad (102-106).
The six-time EuroLeague champions snapped the Russians’ three-game winning streak and maintained a top four push.
Nick Calathes and Konstantinos Mitoglou combined for 47 points for the winners. Calathes posted 22 points and 17 assists, while Mitoglou added 25 points and 16 rebounds.
On the other hand, Mike James had a game-high 30 points for the losing squad. Meanwhile, Daniel Hackett added 24 points for the Muscovites.
Panathinaikos improved to 10-7 in the EuroLeague standings, whereas the “Bear” is at 11-6.
Anadolu Efes had another stellar performance offensively and dominated Khimki at home (101-82) to remain on top.
The key for the Turks was the 16 three-pointers they made in the game (16/30). Thanks to their percentage from beyond the arc, they earned a 21-point lead (72-51) and sealed the deal.
Efes improved to 14-3 and is tied with Real Madrid on top of the standings. For its part, Khimki lost for the third time in the last four games in the EuroLeague (8-9).
Armani Milano center Kaleb Tarczewski led the Italians past Zenit Saint Petersburg and flirted with a double-double.
Tarczewski finished the game with 11 points and nine rebounds. In addition, he made a pair of free throws, with one second to go, to seal the deal (73-72).
Armani improved to 9-8, whereas Zenit is at 4-13.
Jordan Loyd was unstoppable offensively and helped Valencia rally past ALBA Berlin at home (91-77).
Loyd scored 19 points (6/12 shooting) and led the Spaniards to their fourth victory in the last five matches in the EuroLeague.
Valencia improved to 8-9, whereas ALBA has a 5-12 record.