Real Madrid takes 2 game lead over Olympiacos

Real Madrid took control of its best of five series against current two times Euroleague champs Olympiacos with an 82-77 home win. Los Blancos had already won Game 1 in the Spanish capital 88-71 on Tuesday and the powerhouse now leads 2-0 as the series moves to Greece.

Of course, Olympiacos will pose a different kind of threat at home with the full backing of its fans, but for now it is job done for Madrid. The Greek powerhouse will have plenty to do in Game 3 to avoid a whitewash, even if home court advantage is now theirs. Real Madrid led at the end of each quarter, and despite losing the third and fourth frames the team held on to secure an important victory.

Real Madrid vs. Olympiacos, 82-77

First quarter
Rudy Fernandez set Madrid on its way with the first score of the game, a jumper in the paint to make it 2-0. Olympiacos replied via go to guy Vassilis Spanoulis, with the current Euroleague MVP equaling the score from the foul line. The Reds took their first lead seconds later when Ioannis Papeptrou hit two points (2-4), but the hosts hit back through a Nikola Mirotic free throw and a triple from Sergio Llull. Olympiacos took charge of the first quarter with a 0-7 run built by Papeptrou, Bryant Dunston with a dunk, and Spanoulis from downtown (6-11). Madrid hit straight back when Ioannis Bourousis hit two against his former club and Fernandez hit from distance to tie the game at 11-11. The two teams traded until they were locked at 15 apiece, but Madrid took the initiative when Mirotic and Llull triples sandwiched a Georgios Printezis two pointer for the Greeks (21-17). The Spanish team held a four point advantage until the scoreboard read 25-21, but used a 5-0 run to open a 30-21 lead. There was just enough time in Q1 for Dunston to respond with a double for Olympiacos to make the score 30-23 after 10 minutes.

Second quarter
Real Madrid ended the first period well, and started the second by taking command of the game courtesy of a 6-0 run. The streak came at the hands of Felipe Reyes, who struck twice from beyond the arc to make it a double digit game (36-23). Olympiacos did not register in the second stanza until the third minute and then the score was just a 50% success at the charity strip from Brent Petway. The hosts struck again with a jumper from Reyes, who had picked up all of Madrid´s 8 points in the second quarter. The visitors were reeling and the current champs were in danger of letting the game slip away with the score at 38-24. Mardy Collins offered a spark for The Reds from downtown, but once again the Real players hit back with a triple of their own, this time from Sergio Rodriguez (41-27). The Greek team finally clicked and reeled off eight points to Madrid´s two in response, but still the score was 43-35. Madrid put double digits between the teams again when Rodriguez found net with a three pointer. It was a lead Los Blancos would maintain for the rest of the first half as the teams traded scores, although Olympiacos managed to get the deficit under 10 (53-44) before the buzzer sounded.

Third quarter
A dominant start to the second quarter had given Madrid a strong footing in the game and the home team looked good. However, Olympiacos has proved time and again that it has plenty of fight to match its undoubted championship quality. The Greek powerhouse opened the second half by scoring the first five points; a Dunston layup and a Spanoulis triple (53-49). Suddenly there was only four points between the teams and although Madrid scored through Bourousis (55-49), Spanoulis scored from beyond the arc again to make it a one play game at 55-52. Madrid had come out of the blocks slow in the third period, but just as Olympiacos was getting close the hosts found another gear. The Spaniards reeled off eight unanswered points and stopped the visitors scoring for three minutes to take command once more at 63-52. Madrid kept pushing over the next minute and all but crushed the Olympiacos comeback, with Llull hitting from distance to make it 67-55. Spanoulis scored a layup and drew a foul, but his miss from the strip was punished when Bourousis hit a triple to put 13 points between the teams (70-57). Olympiacos rallied again at the close of the quarter and managed to reduce the deficit by five points, putting the scoreboard at 70-62 after 30 minutes.

Fourth quarter
Olympiacos had won the third stanza, but it was not by enough to atone for a poor second period. The Greek team would need a big fourth frame to win the game, but Q4 started poorly when Marcus Slaughter came off the bench and dunked from a Rodriguez alley-oop pass to extend Madrid´s advantage (72-62). The hosts kept adding to the lead over the start of the quarter, and with just five minutes left on the clock the score was 75-63. Olympiacos´ charge had all but ended, but the Greek team kept looking for ways, and Petway sunk a triple for the clubs´ first basket in nearly five minutes (75-66). Real Madrid eased off the gas during the final minutes, and while Olympiacos cut the score, the hosts seemed in control and strolled to victory.

Bourousis came back to haunt his former team with a double-double performance that included 19 points and 10 rebounds. Also impressing for Madrid were Fernandez with 15 points, Mirotic 14, and Llull and Sergio Rodriguez each scored 11, with Llull adding 7 assists.

Spanoulis was again powered Olympiacos with 18 points, while Lojeski scored 13, Bryant Dunston and Petway netted 12 apiece and Georgios Printezis 10 in defeat.