Defeat against Olympiacos

Real Madrid lost to Olympiacos in the 22nd round of the Euroleague and saw the six-match winning streak in the competition come to an end. Chus Mateo's team made a good start but the difference in three-point shooting in favor of the visitors decided the outcome of the game. Hezonja (17 points and 7 rebounds) and Tavares (10 and 9) were our team’s top performers as they looked for a comeback in the final minutes.

The teams with the two best streaks in the Euroleague collided, each with six consecutive wins and showcasing the best of the Euroleague. Madrid started with an aggressive defense, looking for Tavares and his five points opened a 9-3 partial in three minutes that forced a Greek timeout. After the timeout, Olympiacos tightened up at the back and became more effective from three-point range (5). Fournier (10 points) led the visitors' reaction and they finished the first quarter ahead, despite Musa (7) leading a Madrid final charge to close out the quarter (19-22).

Madrid did not nail the defense
The start of the second quarter continued in the same vein. Olympiacos continued to dominate the scoreboard for the rest of the first half with greater offensive fluency than our team. Without the threat on the perimeter, Madrid looked for points on the counterattack. Hezonja, with a great fourth quarter (11 points and 4 rebounds), led the fight for our team but the Piraeans continued to rely on their success in three-pointers to maintain the lead with Vildoza and Vezenkov at the fore. The 8-1 three-point shooting was the decisive factor in the 38-47 lead for the visitors at halftime.

Unsuccessful reaction
The dynamic was the same after the return from the locker room with Olympiacos still very successful from beyond 6.75. Four more three-pointers coupled with refereeing interventions, Tavares and the bench receiving technicals, frustrated Madrid's attempt to close the gap. Today our shots did not want to go in and the Greeks’ did. Williams-Goss and Fournier put the game out of Madrid’s reach making it 54-73 in the 30th minute. Madrid improved in the last five minutes, with Llull, Rathan-Mayes and Garuba showing much more aggression and reducing the gap to 8 points with two minutes to go, but ran out of time to complete the comeback. In addition, Chus Mateo was ejected with his second technical (86-96, min. 40).

REAL MADRID-OLYMPIACOS STATISTICS