McKinley Wright's Last-Minute Three-Pointer Stuns Real Madrid in Dubai (78-77)

Seven days after eliminating Dubai in the SuperCup, Real Madrid faced the team again and came up short. 78-77 at the Coca-Cola Arena, with a three-pointer from McKinley Wright in the final minute and a layup attempt from Andrés Feliz that rimmed out at the buzzer.

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A Cold Start

Madrid came out cold and Dubai capitalized immediately. Dwayne Bacon took charge from the opening tip and opened the first gap, forcing Pedro Martínez to call a timeout at 15-7.

The response came quickly: a 0-9 run with Theo Maledon leading the charge brought the visitors back into the game, though a three-pointer from Toko Shengelia at the buzzer left the first quarter at 20-16 for the hosts.

Madrid's Best Stretch

The second quarter was Madrid's most solid period. They ramped up their defense and back-to-back three-pointers from Mikael Jantunen made it 27-30, forcing Xavi Pascual to intervene.

Then Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot appeared, giving rhythm to the offense and breaking the early shooting struggles with accuracy from mid-range. With that contribution, the team reached halftime up six (38-44).

Another Disconnect After the Break

The opening pattern repeated itself after halftime. Elie Okobo and Bacon took advantage of Madrid's lack of intensity to put together a 9-0 run that gave Dubai control (51-48), and they also began winning the rebounding battle.

Madrid stayed afloat thanks to Damian Jones, who scored eight points alone in that third quarter.

The Final Minute

Facundo Campazzo took charge in the final ten minutes and restored the lead for Madrid, who tried to manage it. Pascual had to call another timeout.

Then came McKinley Wright's three-pointer that put the hosts ahead (78-77) with one minute remaining. On the final possession, Andrés Feliz's layup attempt practically at the buzzer didn't fall.

The Numbers

Bacon was the game's leading scorer with 24 points. Wright added 12 and Mfiondu Kabengele, 9.

For Madrid, Luwawu-Cabarrot and Maledon each had 11, Damian Jones 10 in his debut in the competition as a Madrid player, Jantunen another 10, and Feliz 9.