La Laguna Tenerife defeated Real Madrid 90-95 at the Movistar Arena and became the second team in the Liga Endesa to win at the leader's home thanks to a masterclass from veteran Brazilian point guard Marcelinho Huertas, the game's leading scorer with 25 points.
It was not an easy road trip for the Canary Islanders, arriving at the home of the league leaders, a fortress that had only been breached this season in the competition by Barcelona on January 4th. However, nothing is difficult when you have Huertas on your side, a 42-year-old point guard who delivers pure basketball every matchday. The Tenerife side, who had already conquered the Palau and Martín Carpena this season, also managed to impose their basketball at the white fortress.
Following the joy of qualifying for the FIBA Champions League Final Four, the black-and-gold squad rounded out their great week with a prestigious victory that tightens the playoff race even more heading into the final matchdays of the league season.
The absences of Mario Hezonja and Gabriel Deck, both due to coach's decision, were well compensated by Real Madrid's outside game, with an impressive 3-of-5 from three-point range in the first four minutes. Similarly, Walter Tavares benefited from his teammates' good ball movement to finish well on plays near the basket.
Without the Patty Mills effect at the start, Txus Vidorreta's team improved as the game went on and got better offensively with the entry of Gio Shermadini, always dangerous on pick-and-roll continuations in the middle, 15-13 (min.5).
The Georgian, along with Doornekamp, imposed more toughness on the Tenerife side who, guided by Marcelinho Huertas with six points, dismantled the home defense and closed the first quarter ahead on the scoreboard, 21-26.
A three-pointer by Trey Lyles broke a poor Real Madrid streak at the start of the second quarter, which led La Laguna Tenerife to a 10-point lead with Huertas and Fran Guerra playing from memory, 25-35 (min.28).
Real Madrid reacted with a 7-0 run led by Dominican Andrés Feliz and improved their play with Tavares' return to the court. Meanwhile, the black-and-gold squad, despite Guerra's third personal foul, remained on Marcelinho's shoulders and celebrated Mills' first three-pointer from the perimeter to maintain their halftime lead, 41-45.
The home team started sluggish in the second half. They strung together three turnovers and allowed four points before waking up with a Tavares continuation. Without losing focus, the Tenerife side extended their game-high lead to 11 points, with Huertas reaching 16 points, 46-57 (min.25).
Maledon and Feliz added verticality to the 'Merengue' game and Scariolo's team, with a colossal Tavares, entered comeback mode to cut the deficit with a 10-2 run, (56-59, min.28).
The entry of Usman Garuba for the first time in the game provided intensity on defense for the home squad but his team struggled to stop Shermadini and a Mills who nailed one of the night's best shots with a deep three-pointer, 60-68 (min.30).
Scariolo kept a small lineup and again bet on direct play with Maledon and Feliz who, with the invaluable help of Garuba and Procida, turned the game upside down and awakened the souls of the Palace, 69-70 (min.33).
Three consecutive fouls called on Andrés Feliz, two of them on offense, drew loud boos from the home crowd, who during several stretches of the game also chanted: "We want to cheer in the quarterfinals," remembering the upcoming EuroLeague elimination game against Hapoel, which could be played behind closed doors.
Without Feliz on the court, the Canary Islanders gave prominence to Mills, who took the opportunity to extend the lead with another three-pointer, 69-76. Unstoppable, the Australian reached his seventeenth point to bring victory closer for his team with four minutes remaining, 73-81.
With everything uphill, Scariolo turned again to the Dominican and Real Madrid answered with a 6-0 run forcing Vidorreta to call timeout, 79-81 (min.37).
However, it was Marcelinho's moment, who capped off his excellent performance with a soothing three-pointer to put five points on the board in the final minutes, 81-86.
In desperation, Campazzo missed a crucial layup and Real Madrid, despite fighting until the end, succumbed to a masterclass from the Brazilian point guard, 25 points and a 25 rating, the undisputed MVP of the visiting team's 90-95 victory.
90 - Real Madrid (21+20+19+30): Campazzo (11), Llull (8), Abalde (3), Okeke (3) and Tavares (18) -starting lineup-, Lyles (9), Krämer (-), Procida (5), Maledon (6), Garuba (4), Feliz (18) and Len (5).
95 - La Laguna Tenerife (26+19+23+27): Huertas (25), Mills (18), Giedraitis (7), Abromatis (9) and Guerra (-) -starting lineup-, Fernández (8), Filtipaldo (-), Scrubb (5), Sastre (3), Shermadini (16), Alderete (-) and Doornekamp (4).
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