Real Madrid, from beating to beating: rain of triples in Badalona and expulsion of Hezonja
Real Madrid no longer advances from victory to victory, they do so from beating to beating, in a terrible habit for their rivals. Not even fatigue has a dent in Chus Mateo's men, who accumulate trips, games and triumphs in a spectacular succession. Joventut was the latest victim of a week in which they had already fleeced Estrella Roja and Partizan. [73-101: Narration and statistics]
No victory by less than 14 points. Conceding little and scoring a lot, more than 100 at the Olímpic, on a powerful and spectacular afternoon, against a team that is in the middle of a battle to qualify for the next Copa del Rey in Málaga and that arrived after seven wins in a row. Real Madrid, very solid, remains at the top in Europe and in the Endesa League. He still has two games left to close the year, Asvel and Valencia.
In Badalona he performed again without Deck (an absence in the four that joins Yabusele) and also without the magician Sergio Rodríguez. But Mateo always has a soldier ready to step forward.. Very early he began to open the gap in the Olímpic, dominating the rebound and running, a deadly combination if they let Madrid.
Halfway through the second act, the green-blacks were already staggering, unable to advance in the face of the gale.. To all its virtues, Madrid combined success, devastating from the perimeter. At half-time he had already accumulated 10 triples from 21 attempts, especially effective Mario Hezonja who has lived in the clouds in recent weeks. A triple from the Croatian made it +21 in less than 19 minutes (32-53).
But Hezonja is an angel and a demon. On an afternoon without much tension, a protest ended with his expulsion. He got tangled with the referees in the last play of the first half and a double technique, the second already in the locker room tunnel, prevented him from continuing with his show at the Olímpic: he accumulated 14 points, four triples and six rebounds.
Moment of Hezonja's expulsion. EFE
It was a small spring for Penya, who with the free throws got a little closer to the return. A mirage. The white response was even more forceful. A run of 2-16, four more triples along the way, to leave everything ready for judgment with still a quarter of an hour to play.
At that point, the whites had accumulated 14 triples, above 50% success rate. As if someone had widened their hoops. They continued to advance in steamroller mode, with reliable minutes for Carlos Alocén (the only one with over 20 minutes on the court), Eli Ndiaye (nine points, four rebounds, two blocks) and the youth squad Hugo González (more than six minutes of play and four points) and advantages that exceeded thirty.