Real Madrid slips to defeat at Bayern
Bayern Munich inflicted only the second defeat of the season on Real Madrid after a determined 85-83 home win on Thursday. The German club surprised the Spanish giant as the teams clashed in the Euroleague Top 16, Round 10.
Madrid has been cruising through much of the Euroleague season but this could be a worrying sign for the club as it sets it goals on the title. Of course, it could also be just a blip against a Bayern Munich team that has surprised many during the campaign, competing in its first Euroleague and on track for a playoff position. Speaking of the playoffs, Los Blancos had the chance to progress to the next round if the team had won this game, but will now have to wait until Round 11 for a another chance to seal the deal.
With CSKA Moscow also winning on Thursday, Real Madrid drops to second in Group F with an 8-2 record, but is still on course to qualify comfortably. Munich on the other hand is locked in an increasingly interesting battle for fourth place and the last playoff berth. The German club currently occupies that fourth spot with a 4-5 record, but could slip to fifth if this season´s other surprise debutants Lokomotiv Kuban secure a win over Galatasaray tomorrow.
Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid, 85-83
First quarter
Boris Savovic had been drafted into the starting five by Bayern coach Svetislav Pesic and he put the scoreboard in motion with a dunk. The big scoring Malcolm Delaney was soon on the board when he struck a triple in response to a Madrid basket from Ioannis Bourousis to put the score at 5-3 early on. Madrid´s recent form came to the fore across the middle of the first quarter as the visitors piled on 10 points without reply (5-12). Nihad Djedovic and Delaney combined to respond for the hosts with a 10-2 run of their own, to put the score at 15-14. The teams locked down the back end of the quarter as they ended the period with the score at 20-19.
Second quarter
Deon Thompson had dropped to the Bayern bench for the start of the game, but he left the sideline to drive Bayern to its biggest lead by that point. Thompson scored four as the German club opened up 26-21 deficit. Madrid did well to claw the game back through two free throw successes by Felipe Reyes and Sergio Rodriguez (30-31). Los Blancos prevented Bayern from scoring for three minutes before Bryce Taylor snapped the drought with a two pointer. However, Real Madrid was in the groove and Rodriguez hit two from beyond the arc as he paced the visitors to a 2-15 run that gave them command of the game. With the halftime buzzer ringing around the Audi Dome, Madrid held a comfortable 42-34 advantage.
Third quarter
Bourousis responded to a Robin Benzing second half opener by hitting two baskets that gave Madrid a 10 point lead at 46-36. With the Spanish clubs´ formidable form this season, the fans inside the arena could have been forgiven for thinking the contest was all but over. However, Bayern has proved this season that there is fight in the team, and once again the player rose to the challenge. The hosts hit 12 points over the next minutes while Madrid replied with a single free throw to restore a lead at 48.47. The teams traded before Rodriguez hit his third triple of the period to once again claim the lead for Madrid (51-53). With minute 30 approaching Madrid outpaced Bayern by 7 points to 5 to take a lead of 56-60 into the final frame.
Fourth quarter
Sergio Llull sandwiched a John Bryant two pointer with a couple of scores from downtown to give Madrid an 8 point lead, with the board reading 58-66. Bryant hit again for Munich and was followed by a big three from Benzing (63-66) to make it a three point game. The Madrid attack kept working the basket and maintained a cushion throughout the middle of the last quarter, but there was danger lurking from Bayern. The home team snapped into action with three minutes on the clock when Djedovic and Taylor both nailed triples to take a 77-74 lead. The final minutes of the game proved frenetic as Bayern staved off baskets from Tremmell Darden and Reyes courtesy of a big finale from Yassin Idbihi, Delaney, and Taylor. With just 6.7 seconds on the clock and the score at 85-82, Rodriguez went to the line. The Spaniard sunk his first free throw and purposely missed the second looking for a follow up. However, Madrid could not collect and did not make the basket that would have taken the game to overtime.
Nihad Djedovic set the tempo for the winners with a game high 21 points and was followed by Delaney with 20 points and six assists.
Rodriguez scored 18 points for Real Madrid, while also hitting double figures in the losing effort were Bourousis with 13, Rudy Fernandez with 12 and Nikola Mirotic with 11.
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Other games on the night
Group E
Fenerbahce vs. Unicaja Malaga, 69-67
Group F
CSKA Moscow vs. Partizan NIS Belgrade, 84-52
Maccabi Electra Tel-Aviv vs. Zalgiris Kaunas, 77-67