Real defeats Maccabi 79:63

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv dropped to a 3:6 record in the EuroLeague after a 63:79 loss to Real Madrid as part of the 9th European fixture. The Spanish set the tone early, starting hot from deep. Wilbekin helped the Yellow & Blue reduce the margin to single digits, but the hosts sealed the contest in the 4th quarter.

Scottie Wilbekin, Sandy Cohen, Elijah Bryant, Angelo Caloiaro, and Ante Zizic started for the Yellow & Blue while on the other end, Facundo Campazzo, Alberto Abalde, Gabriel Deck, Anthony Randolph, and Walter Tavares opened for the hosts. 

Elijah Bryant scored four points for the Yellow & Blue as Randolph hit back to back triples giving Real a 10:6 advantage. Wilbekin laid in over the 220 cm of Tavares, cutting the edge in half, but Campazzo and Deck, led the Blancos to 6 unanswered points, 16:8 midway through the quarter. 

Zizic recovered two offensive boards tallying four points inside, and his Croatian teammate Dragan Bender drove twice to the bucket and knocked it in, diminishing the margin to 5. The Spanish squad closed out the period with an 8:2 bolt as Deck drilled his 10th point and 6th triple of the hosts opening a double-digit advantage, 29:18.

Tyler Dorsey and Chris Jones scored five consecutive points for the Yellow & Blue, reducing the edge down to 6. Madrid good stretches continued as Tavares, Trey Thompkins, and Rudy Fernandez totaled three straight buckets in the paint, regaining the double-digit lead, 35:23.

Zizic added on to his terrific first half, dominating inside, scoring his 10th point keeping Maccabi in the thick of things, but Campazzo and Abalde raised the margin to 13 at halftime, 45:32.

Wilbekin drilled a triple for his 1500 point of his career, Randolph responded on the other end, but the American guard added another one from deep to open up the second half, 48:38. Bryant came for the rescue defensively, stealing the ball twice as Wilbekin converted his 8th point of the quarter, and Bender knocked down a three, which led to a Pablo Laso timeout, 50:43.

Real flipped the momentum totaling six straight points, retrieving the 13 point edge as Hunter converted a three-point play after drawing a foul from Tavares, 60:50. Randolph closed out the quarter, hitting both free throws, 62:50.

Jones drove left and laid in the first points of the last 10 minutes, as both teams had a tough time finding the bucket, 66:52. Midway through the quarter, Sergio Llull totaled his 10th point of the quarter, and Fernandez hit his first triple of the night as Wilbekin added on to his 18 points, and Zizic finished for his 14th point, 75:58. Real Madrid defeats Maccabi 79:63.