Real Madrid drew level in the Liga Endesa Finals with an 87-78 victory over Barcelona in Game 2 in the Spanish capital.
Rudy Fernandez led the winners with 17 points as the Euroleague finalists raced out to a 24-14 lead after the first quarter and never looked back from there.
Barca narrowed the gap to six points at one stage in the second quarter, but Madrid were firing on all cylinders. An off-balance shot on the elbow from Fernandez gave the hosts a 56-42 cushion with 3:14 left in the third quarter looked to have put the game beyond reach, but concern for Real as the Spanish international seemed to land awkwardly on his ankle.
He was taken off and didn’t return.
From that, Barca staged a fightback, but left themselves with too much to do. Juan Carlos Navarro led the Catalan side with 15 points but despite defeat, they will be pleased that they took one game on the road as the series now switches to Barcelona on Tuesday.
