Real Madrid stood tall in Vitoria as they overcame Baskonia 79-71 to create room at the top of the EuroLeague table and leave their Liga Endesa rivals with a rare second straight loss at home.
With a heavy mix of former NBA veterans and skilled European stars, it was the teenage sensation Luka Doncic who stood out once again for the league leaders as his team-high 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists made the entire EuroLeague stand up and take notice, if they foolishly had not already.
The 17-year-old didn’t turn the ball over once, which shows outstanding maturity but despite Doncic’s heroics, Real Madrid coach Pablo Laso was quick to praise the entire squad, as well as the crafty Slovenian.
“It’s a great victory, although I do not have the feeling of having taken any pressure off,” Laso said. “Jeffrey Taylor had a very good game and Doncic, too. Luka is a very talented player, but we have to congratulate the whole team. Until the break they dominated the rebounds, but we still managed to stop them from scoring, and in the second half we made it more balanced.”
Rodrique Beaubois led Baskonia with 20 points but they fall to their fourth defeat in five games.
Crvena Zvezda’s magnificent unbeaten run came to an end as Anadolu Efes claimed an 86-72 win in Belgrade to leapfrog neighbours Darussafaka Dogus into the eighth and final Playoff spot.
Derrick Brown led the winners with 20 points, 11 rebounds and DeShaun Thomas scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter to halt Red Star’s winning run at seven games as they end round 21 in fifth place.
“We just wanted to come out defensively, that was our main goal today,” Brown said.
“Obviously, there was a great atmosphere and it is playoffs time, so we have to get as many wins as we can. Some games you play well, some games you don’t, but obviously, it is a team sport. I am trying to do the best I can to help my team win and we got the victory.”
Panathinaikos maintained their Playoff hopes as they held on to beat basement side Galatasaray 84-79 in Istanbul.
The win solidifies Panathinaikos’ place in the top eight as they make it four wins from four against Galatasaray in EuroLeague history. however, they were made to work hard for their latest win, equaling a season-high 16 three-pointers to grab the win.
Afterwards, an emotional Panathinaikos coach Xavi Pascual dedicated his team’s win to the fans and to a friend of the basketball community.
“First of all I would like to dedicate this win to our fans, for them it’s a very important day because Panathinaikos celebrates its 109th birthday,” Pascual said.
“Secondly, I want to dedicate this win to a Spanish coach who died today, Raul Jimenez. The victory is dedicated to him and to his family. We knew before the game that Galatasaray plays excellent basketball and that it will be a very difficult game. We are happy with this result.”
Mike James hit 18 points, off the bench for the victors.
