Real Madrid starts EuroLeague campaign with victory over Panathinaikos
The tie was tight throughout with maximum difference of the game only reaching eight points. However the Greek hosts were almost always behind on the scoreboard. They did, however, take the lead twice with just a few minutes to go.
Los Blancos started well and managed to open a gap in the scoreboard (13-21), but it did not last long. A 6-0 run for the Greeks, who came into the game suffering a tough defeat against Olympiacos in the Super Cup (52-67), allowed the advantage to be minimal after the first 10 minutes (22-23). There were hardly any significant differences between the two in any statistic.
Panathinaikos made a strong start to the second quarter, although the exchange of scores was constant. Once again Real Madrid finished one point ahead after tying the score at 15. Chus Mateo's team scored 40% of their two-point shots attempted, twice as many as the opponent (20%).
On the other hand, no three-pointers (out of two possible) for Real Madrid, compared to two out of six for the hosts. A very poor performance by both teams, more effective on defense than on offense.
The third was won by the Spaniards, albeit by only two points (14-16). The maximum advantage, moreover, was four and was seen on a couple of occasions (41-45 and 48-52).
The three-time reigning Spanish Super Cup champions were losing, in all cases in a very fair way. So much so that they faced the last 10 minutes with a small cushion (51-54), key and decisive for the victory in a game whose top scorer was Derrick Williams (15), ahead of Tavares (14) and Musa (13).
In the last quarter, Madrid went seven points up (55-62), but the home team turned it around. In the final minute, however, a three-pointer by Llull was key to give his team a six-point lead (65-71). Paris Lee, at the buzzer and with no time left for anything else, made the final score 68-71.
There were four other games in the EuroLeague on Thursday night with the biggest winners being Fenerbahce, who won 74-62 against Bayern.
Center Tonye Jekiri scored 15 points for the Turkish side with his oppostite center, Othello Hunter, scoring 18 for Bayern.
In Spain, Baskonia beat Valencia 81-71, whilst there was a much tighter in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv winning by just one point over Zalgiris Kaunas. The last game of the opening night was a victory for Olimpia Milano over Lyon-Villeurbanne.