Causeur and a Real Madrid up to the task

• Heurtel-Thompkins Timeline of an Unexplained Pardon

• Euroleague This is the playoff

So many times anxiety blocks basketball, the labyrinth becomes entangled and even the way to win is forgotten, that inertia that was a hallmark of

's Real Madrid .

And a point of no return has to come to remember those sensations again, that competitiveness to the limit.

He savored the victory against Maccabi as a liberation, as a path to redemption, in the first battle of a series that seems dramatic.

[84-74: Narration and statistics]

In that anguish, a guy always elegant in his manners and in his basketball appeared, a silent Frenchman, always hidden in the background, now a hero out of necessity.

was the captain of a collective that was aggressive, finally successful, finally consistent for 40 minutes.

A leader.

Together with

, he infected

, until he nullified the Israeli threat and made it 1-0 in the quarter-final tie.

Already the staging of Madrid was, for the first time in a long time, as it should be.

Also the appearance of the Palace, full and lively as before, even with the yellow brushstrokes in the stands of Maccabi fans -far from the 3,000 that were announced, yes-.

The necessary verve for the occasion, with

on the street at the back of the bench, still not completely pardoned in the ineffable episode that went on to join the worst crisis of results of the Laso era.

without deck

But they were a few quarters of the Euroleague, the Rubicon intended to put an end to the black clouds once and for all, to gain momentum towards a competitive end to the season and to return to the Final Four.

And, although the fittest guy was not on the track -

's positive is already unfortunate -, he showed himself in the initial verve, like fresh air against a rival who came to the Antipodes, riding his wave of good results.

Already at that dawn, Causeur touched a chord and the whole of Madrid began to vibrate.

Because he scored with ease, he ran, he bit in defense.

He assumed responsibilities without fear of error, the clean mind of

, who had already distributed six assists at halftime, who emerged as the base that everyone expected.

And despite the difficulties, especially

's points , Madrid flowed and extended advantages.

When Maccabi equalized with the drop in the second unit (34-34), a response came, three triples in less than a minute with the initial quintet back, the maximum then (45-35), power and mental toughness at the first moment of doubt.

And the success that was so missed.

And that aim was going to be like the wind in favor in a breakaway, the spring before each visitor approach attempt.

became a threat in a wonderful third quarter, where he even managed to unbalance

.

Given the tight spot, two triples from Yabusele, five consecutive points from a total benchmark Causeur.

The secondary, the reliable left-hander, now a star at almost 35 years old, an example of professionalism and perseverance.

But now the most extreme challenge came to Madrid, that of not melting in the outcome, that of not throwing everything good from before to the ground.

This has been happening to him pitifully in recent weeks, with comebacks against him to rub his eyes.

The ghosts flew over, despite the fact that the umpteenth triple - another from Rudy - put the maximum (68-56).

And it was triple or nothing (16 of 29), four points between

and Tavares.

Two more, burning wrists of Rudy and Yabusele, hit a Maccabi trying to come back.

And the perimeter spurred the defense and Madrid, although it hesitated on more than one occasion in panic, ended up conquering a triumph that is gold, the one that now does make them glimpse Belgrade, a relief when there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel .

On Friday, second round.

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