Real Madrid slammed Hapoel Tel Aviv 102-75 as Facundo Campazzo and Usman Garuba ran the Reds ragged in the second half to take a stranglehold 2-0 lead in their Euroleague quarterfinal series.
Dimitrios Itoudis’s squad came out with a ton of energy early, thanks to impressive play on the inside by Dan Oturu, as Hapoel grabbed a 42-40 advantage at halftime.
However, the second half was all one-way traffic as Campazzo, Garuba, along with Mario Hezonja and Theo Maledon started to score at will and locked down on defense to close out the 27-point win.
Next up for the two clubs will be Game 3 on Tuesday and, if necessary, Game 4 on Thursday in Bulgaria as Tel Aviv will have its back against the wall and will need to sweep the pair of “home” games and then return to Madrid for a decisive Game 5 the following week.
Oturu scored 19 points, Elijah Bryant added 11 points, and Chris Jones scored 10 points in the loss, while Campazzo scored 23 points as Garuba and Maledon each scored 13 points in the win.
Itoudis summed up his team’s performance.
“We saw two different teams. In the first half, we were competitive, we followed the game plan, and knew how to cope even when they were leading. Unfortunately, we lost our composure, there was pressure on the playmakers, we collapsed in the third quarter, and Real Madrid’s second unit scored 16 points. They deserved to win. We’ve shown on many occasions that we can compete. We’re here to compete, and we need to extend those 20 minutes into 40 minutes. We need to win, we don’t want to get swept.”
Itoudis: Real Madrid 'put a lot of pressure on us'
On what caused the change in the second half, the bench boss explained: “They put a lot of pressure on us, took away passing lanes, created many good looks, and knew how to take advantage of our inconsistency in executing the game plan. They are good players, very experienced, and they used that along with their size advantage.”
Oturu also spoke after the game.
“We didn’t play well enough, that’s what happened. The difference between the halves? Two completely different teams, and that’s unacceptable. I don’t know what happened in the third quarter – we just didn’t play the way we were supposed to. I always believe we can win. Tomorrow is a new day. We’ll focus on practice and hopefully come out with the right energy. It’s only 2-0, and we’re still in it.”
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