Lucas Sáez-Bravo Madrid

Madrid

Updated Tuesday, January 30, 2024-22:55

  • Classification This is the Euroleague

It was a strange night at WiZink, an apparently fast-paced game, without fireworks, which, however, turned out to be an offensive festival. The two best teams in scoring points in the Euroleague were challenged, Real Madrid and Maccabi, two old enemies as well. But the fact is that the defenses took the day off and the whites, without the brilliance lost lately but with 106 points in their bag, took the duel to remain undefeated at home in Europe and outstanding leaders. [107-101: Narration and statistics]

207 points were seen in the Palace and that does not mean it was a night to remember. Not even too exciting, even though Maccabi never threw in the towel. The fatigue of the January slope is noticeable (

Lorenzo Brown

missed his first 13 throws). Not a single second was Madrid - still without

Llull or Tavares

- behind on the scoreboard but they did not know the winner until almost the last 20 seconds. A strange night, yes in which the talented

Baldwin

shot up with 28 points.

Madrid was very aware of its current moment, which is not exactly the most optimal. Because of sensations, because of fatigue and because of sickness. "A downturn that had to come," in the words of

Chus Mateo

himself

. Beyond the scandal on Sunday in Gran Canaria, where he showed up with 10 troops, perhaps nothing worrying. Good mattress and the important thing to come. But it's better not to dig into the wound and recover the feeling.

And the start, with

Yabusele and Hezonja

recovered, was solid. Without frills, with success and with the internal prominence of

Poirier

, who was going to be the most decisive guy. Maccabi is a rival with venom, but they seemed controlled. Even despite his offensive rebounding ability. All the Hebrew points came from Baldwin and

Colson

and with a couple of triples before the break they came together, as if to warn that they were there.

The game progressed between coldness, stoppages and treacherous advantages and Lorenzo Brown, in his duel with

Campazzo

, failed and failed. It was as if Madrid had lost punch, nerve to finish. In that third act the visiting protagonist was the former Murcia and Valencia,

James Webb

. When they realized it, Maccabi was already there (72-71).

Hezonja and

Chacho

brought some order with two triples, but the reality was that in the last two quarters, the second and third, Madrid had conceded 55 points. And that despite Lorenzo's disaster, which he partially compensated for with his assists. When the team's point guard's first basket arrived,

Sergio Rodríguez

tried to scare away scares with his intrinsic joy. In the blink of an eye, to the despair of the Maccabi players (who in that stretch saw two technicals for protesting), Madrid shot again. He set the maximum (91-78, min. 33) and anyone would have suspected that it was the end. If it weren't for the fact that consistency is one of the things that whites are missing the most lately. It was also the blink of an eye in which they conceded a partial 0-11.

It was not going to be the last exchange of partials, a symptom of lack of concentration. A 9-0 for each one and, finally, a victory with more points than brilliance. Or, as Chus Mateo himself concluded: "We have little to boast about in terms of energy." Without rest time, this Thursday against Asvel.