Tavares dominates, Real eliminate 16-point gap to stay undefeated at home / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Sonia Camada - Getty Images Credit Sonia Camada - Getty Images

Real Madrid (19-3) overcame Olympiacos Piraeus resistance (12-9), 75-67 (10-15, 14-23, 26-13, 25-16), and remained undefeated at home in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

Player of the Game EFF 24 Walter Tavares Points 11 Accuracy 4-7 Rebounds 9 Assists 0

Fabien Causeur hit a trey, Guerschon Yabusele made a powerful dunk, and Real got in front by 4 points (55-51) at the start of the fourth quarter.

Both clubs were trading buckets, while the match was tied at 62 with 4:40 left. The game got heated when Oly committed an unsportsmanlike foul against Vincent Poirier, who lost a tooth in the collision.

After the arguments with the match referees, Walter Tavares made an alley-oop jam to give Real a slim lead (67-65) with 2:17 to go. The Royal club got a couple of crucial stops, while Rudy Fernandez sank a dagger (70-65) with 47 seconds on the clock.

Real stopped Olympiacos attack again and Sergio Llull made the circus shot on the other end to answer all the questions (73-65).

Despite having Moustapha Fall as an opponent, Walter Tavares dominated under the baskets. He accumulated 11 points (4/7 2PT, 3/3 FT), 9 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 4 blocks, and 24 PIR.

Thomas Heurtel was the top scorer for the Royals, posting 20 points (5/5 2PT, 3/7 3PT, 1/2 FT), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover, and 20 PIR.

Sasha Vezenkov led the route for the losing side, registering 16 points (3/3 2PT, 2/3 3PT, 4/4 FT), 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, and 20 PIR.

Sasha Vezenkov initiated a 9-0 spurt in the mid-second quarter and Olympiacos ran away from their opponents by 16 points (36-20).

Georgios Bartzokas' squad limited Real to 24 points and maintained its solid lead, going into the break (38-24). The Royal club played its worst first-half in WiZink Center this season, converting 8 shots in 33 attempts (24.24%).

Though, Real Madrid, led by Sergio Llull and Thomas Heurtel, shifted momentum to their side in the third quarter. Pablo Laso's men arranged an 11-2 and cut their deficit to 3 points (44-47). Nigel Williams-Goss converted a 3+1 play and Real were only down by 1 (50-51) before the last 10 minutes of the game.

Real: Thomas Heurtel 20, Walter Tavares 11 (9 REB), Guerschon Yabusele 11 (9 REB).

Olympiacos: Sasha Vezenkov 16 (6 REB), Tyler Dorsey 13 (4 AST), Kostas Sloukas 12 (6 AST).

Highlights

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