Euroleague
- quarters - matchday 1That's how it was
real Madrid
84 74
Finalized
Maccabee
Fabien Causeur's rigor and aim propelled Real Madrid to claim the first point of the Euroleague quarter-final tie against Maccabi Tel Aviv (84-74).
The outstanding performance of the French shooting guard in attack and defense (20 points, four rebounds and five assists) allowed Laso's team to restore their morale, air the anguish of a crisis yet to heal, and rearm in the face of the challenge of reaching the Final Four from Belgrade.
Wilbekin (20 points) was left too much alone in an inconsistent Maccabi who moved to arreones and fell short in all his reaction attempts.
Meanwhile, Williams-Goss (11 points and 8 assists), Rudy Fernández and Yabusele did support Causeur (4 of 6 from three-pointers for a total of 16 of 29) until they secured a restorative victory for the Whites.
Heurtel and Thompkins attended their team's triumph alongside the Madrid bench —in the space set aside for injured players or players not in the squad—, awaiting Laso's
definitive
pardon on the court.
MORE INFORMATION
Davies and Exum mark territory for Barça
Euroleague 'Playoffs' 2021-2022
Madrid, who in the first five months of the competition only lost three games, dropped to fourth place in the standings after adding eight defeats in the last 10 games of the regular phase.
A trajectory opposite to that of Maccabi, who arrived launched to the
playoff
after adding seven victories in the last eight games.
But, in the first setback at their crossroads, Laso's team reacted to recover their competitive memory.
The Whites quickly responded to Wilbekin's effervescence (two three-pointers) with Causeur's points (seven in the first five minutes) and Yabusele's episodic drive.
The union application allowed Laso's men to seize the initiative, however, with the start of the rotations and the accumulation of losses, the local run was reduced.
Maccabi tightened the screws and closed the gap, from 17-10 to 22-19, always with Wilbekin in the lead (10 points in that stretch), but a triple by Rudy at the buzzer in the first quarter allowed Madrid to maintain the plan in the court and the emotion in the stands, with a much smaller presence of Israeli fans than expected.
In Rudy's wake, Abalde grew and, between the two, with a triple by beard (5 of 9 at that time in the white statistics), they stretched the rope again (31-22, m. 12).
The success from the perimeter allowed Madrid to add at a good pace while waiting for the cement to set behind.
Nunnally's step forward reactivated the Maccabi for a few moments but, just as they had completed the chase, Laso's men launched another attack.
Three consecutive triples (two by Causeur, with one by Hanga in between) reinforced Madrid's self-esteem and Hanga himself marked the milestone of +10 advantage for the locals.
From 34-34 to 45-35 shortly before the trip to the locker room.
At the break, Causeur improved Wilbekin's performance in attack and defense, and Hanga balanced Nunnally's.
By then, Williams-Goss had dished out half a dozen assists, half of his team's 12 and as many as the entire Maccabi.
The madridista perseverance overcame the arreones of the Israeli group and the 9 of 16 in triples allowed the whites to build and build while airing the doubts.
And, after the break, Yabusele and Tavares backed the cause of Williams-Goss and Causeur and Madrid recognized their rigor and solvency.
Reynolds and Sorkin were barely able to add points to Wilbekin's administration and Maccabi went from making the rubber to fighting for not getting off the hook definitively.
The Israeli team stretched their pride to avoid an early surrender taking advantage of Causeur's trip to the bench.
From 68-56, to 68-63.
But two triples from Rudy and one more from Yabusele closed the door on the ghosts.
This Friday, also the WiZink Center (20.45), second round of the tie.
You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on
and
, or sign up here to receive
our weekly newsletter
.