Roller-coaster in Madrid: Real waste 25-point lead but come on top in the last seconds thriller against Monaco / News - Basketnews.com

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Real Madrid (2-1) got a close victory over AS Monaco (2-1) 94-86 (30-12, 21-27, 21-26, 22-21) despite blowing a comfortable advantage. The Spanish powerhouse provided Monaco the first upset in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

Player of the Game EFF 25 Guerschon Yabusele Points 18 Accuracy 4-5 Rebounds 3 Assists 2

After Will Thomas three with 4 minutes to play, Monaco completely came back to the game and tied the score at 81. However, Yabusele converted 3 free throws to give the lead back to Real (86-83), with 2 minutes were left on the clock.

The last dagger was Rudy Fernandez’s three with one minute to go (89-84). On the defensive end, Real got crucial stops and sealed the win.

Guerschon Yabusele was a top performer for the winners. He accumulated 18 points (2/3 2PT, 2/2 3PT, 8/9 FT), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 7 drawn fouls, and 25 PIR.

“They made big shots, pretty tough shots that brought them back in the game,” said Yabusele after the match. “They played with a lot of energy. As I said, they are a top team, but we managed to stay focused and win this game. I’m just enjoying being on the floor, we have a great team, I’m happy to be part of this organization.”

Pablo Laso emphasized the lack of consistency: “I think it was very important how we started the game, we got a big lead, but we were not able to play consistently neither defensively nor offensively, and they came back.

They are a team that plays solid, they got big players like Mike James, who can make difficult shots, and step by step, they came back. We were very solid in the last 4-5 minutes, and that made the difference in the end.”

Mike James put on a show for Monaco. He posted 24 points (1/4 2PT, 6/10 3PT, 4/4 FT), 3 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, and 34 PIR.

Zvezdan Mitrovic underlined the poor team’s start: “We really enjoyed playing here tonight against Real Madrid. Maybe we opened the game like we were impressed, with stress, and it was catastrophic.”

Free throws this season

74%13,0Points made:13,0Accuracy:73,6%Place in standings:8Record max:14Record min:12Most made FTs:Leo WestermannTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

“I think we played better in the second part of the game, and in the end, as you could see, it was a matter of one ball, one basket, so congratulations to Real Madrid for the win,” Mitrovic added.

The Royal club came out strong from the first second. The whites organized a 13-1 run thanks to Hanga, Yabusele, and Tavares baskets. That was not the end, as Real’s lead reached 21 points in the first period (27-6).

Even though Pablo Laso’s squad was in front by 25 points at the start of the second quarter (44-19), Monaco made a 17-5 push to cut the deficit to 12 points (51-39). Mike James and Brock Motum inspired the run.

Trey Thompkins and Anthony Randolph did not participate in the duel, as they are injured and not registered in the 2021-22 EuroLeague.

Real: Guerschon Yabusele 18 (3 REB), Thomas Heurtel 13 (5 REB, 7 AST), Fabien Causeur 12 (4 AST), Walter Tavares 9 (6 REB), Adam Hanga 9 (4 REB).

Monaco: Mike James 24 (10 AST), Donta Hall 12 (7 REB), Will Thomas 11 (3 REB), Donatas Motiejunas 9 (3 REB), Danilo Andjusic 8, Leo Westermann 8 (2 AST).

Mike James performance

Highlights

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