Real Madrid dominates Bayern in the Euroleague

Real Madrid remained unbeaten as they welcomed Bayern Munich to Spain to kick off the third round of the Euroleague Top 16.

The Spanish team outpaced the German visitors to win a high scoring and exciting encounter 111-87 to remain unbeaten in all competitions this season (including a 13 game streak in the Euroleague). It was a truly blockbuster performance by Real Madrid, and the team putting this many points on the board has been coming for a few weeks as the club continues to show formidable form. Los Blancos became the first team in six years to score more than 110 points in the Euroleauge while the team went close to scoring the most points in the third quarter with 41 (two shorts of Tel-Aviv´s haul during the 2009/2010 season).

The win puts Madrid 3-0 in Group F while Bayern slips to 2-1 but will still be pleased with that record after 3 weeks of the Last 16. Rudy Fernandez collected a game high 24 points while shooting 66% from beyond the arc, while Sergio Rodriguez netted 19 points and 7 assists for Madrid. Also hitting double figures for the home team were Nikola Mirotic with 16 points, Sergio Llull with 13, Jaycee Carroll with 12 and Felipe Reyes scored 11 points and 6 rebounds.

Malcolm Delaney led the losing effort with 22 points and was helped by Bruce Taylor with 14 points and Lucca Staiger and Robin Benzing with 12 apiece.

First quarter

Fernandez started the scoring for Madrid with a layup before Bayern took an early 4-5 lead through John Bryant with Staiger responding to a Madrid score with three. The lead was traded several times as Real Madrid went in front only for the visitors to keep aggressive in the paint and at the boards to snatch back the lead. Delaney took a classy three and was helped by Tremmell Darden and Deon Thompson as Bayern took a 13-18 lead. The German visitors continued to impress during the opening quarter and led by 7 points after 10 minutes, with the score at 17-24.

Second quarter

Real Madrid started picking up defensive boards with three pointers from Mirotic and Fernandez giving us a one point game at 23-24. Again the game got real close as both teams harried for control, but despite a quick Madrid lead (30-28) Bayern proved stronger in the middle of the quarter to take a 39-42 advantage. However, the Madrid players have proved this season that they often have more gears to find when they slip behind and that was the case again in the Spanish capital as Los Blancos rallied in the dying embers of the first half to snatch a narrow 48-47 edge at the midway point.

Third quarter

The hosts emerged from the locker room with more purpose and started playing more consistently early in the second half. Fernandez hit from downtown and Ioannis Bourousis also claimed a triple to give the home team its biggest lead so far, with the board reading 54-47. Madrid continued to rally and restricted Bayern to just three points in the early exchanges of the third quarter while scoring 12. Indeed, it proved to be a dominant 10 minutes that paved the way for victory as Madrid scored a massive 41 points in the period compared to Bayern´s 21. Real Madrid had found that extra gear and with it they brushed the German team aside and made it a 21 point game at 89-68.

Fourth quarter

Bayern started the fourth quarter well with five points courtesy of Heiko Schaffartzik, but once again the Real Madrid wave came. The home team started holding onto the ball to let the clock win the game while also hitting baskets to widen the deficit. Rodriguez hit a counter attack layup to put 100 on the board for Madrid as Bayern showed the strain despite still collecting scores. With the game all but over the Spanish team hit another eleven to put 111 on the scoreboard and collect another convincing victory.