By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Three days after beating Panathinaikos Athens in a double-overtime clash, Real Madrid won another battle in the extra period, this time against Olympiacos Piraeus, 86 – 82.
Sergio Llull (10 points, five assists) hit the go-ahead basket to give Real Madrid a 81 – 82 lead with 1:28 to play. After a turnover by Olympiacos, Nicolas Laprovittola made a pair of free throws and, following 1-2 from the line by Kostas Sloukas, he drained two more from the charity stripe to seal the win of his team.
Laprovittola, who scored seven points in overtime, finished with a game-high 19 points six assists. Trey Thompkins dropped 15 points while Edy Tavares posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds for Real that also had to recover from watching Anthony Randolph suffering a scary injury in the third period.
“It doesn’t look good, commented Pablo Laso on Randolph in the post-game presser. The player will undergo an MRI in Madrid Saturday.
Olympiacos had an opportunity to win the game at the end of regulation. But after Kostas Sloukas (11 points, seven assists, five rebounds) hit the game-tying shots that capped a 6 – 0 run for the Reds and following a steal by Shaq McKissic with five seconds to play, he missed the game-winning shot from downtown, sending the match to the extra period.
Hassan Martin (18 points, six rebounds) and McKissic (18 points, five rebounds) stood out from Olympiacos. Vassilis Spanoulis (five points, five assists) also had a key contribution in the second half when he and Martin pushed their team to taking a 48 – 41 lead after going down 30 – 37.
Real, then had a 3-point burst thanks to Jaycee Carroll (eight points), Thompkins and Laprovittola that lifted the visiting squad towards going up 53 – 60. The “Blancos” retained the lead until the last minutes when Oly made a run to tie the match.