On a night when little separated the age-old rivals Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, two frontcourt forces for the hosts made all the difference.
Deck, Poirier inspired Real Madrid's El Clásico comeback
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A win in El Clásico between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona is much more than another notch in the victory column. One reason for that is that the victor must show great hustle on both ends throughout the game. That's exactly what both sides did at WiZink Center on Thursday night, when Los Blancos managed to come out on top thanks to a couple of very impressive displays by Gabriel Deck and Vincent Poirier.
The two combined for more than half of Real’s points, with Deck scoring a game-high 20 and Poirier adding 14 in a narrow 65-64 win. On a night when Facundo Campazzo did not make a field goal, Sergio Llull netted just 2 points and Rudy Fernandez went scoreless, Deck was aware that he was one of the players who had to step up.
Deck led Real Madrid’s turnaround
The Argentine forward scored 9 points in the second quarter, when the hosts were trailing by double digits, including his team's sole first-half three-pointer to trim the gap to 28-30 at halftime. The reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champs dominated the third quarter and managed to turn the game around in the third quarter. Their comeback from being as many as 14 points down midway through the second quarter amounted to the biggest deficit the Real has overcome to beat Barcelona in the EuroLeague this century. Real now leads the series 18-17.
“We were asleep at the wheel at first, missing a lot,” Deck told EuroLeague.net after the game. “In the third quarter we changed our mindset, we changed the energy and we were able to get a lead that we were able to maintain until the end.”
Poirier assured Real extra possessions
Meanwhile, Poirier contributed the most in Real’s bid to complete a second-half comeback. After going 3-for-3 on two-pointers before the break, the French center finished the game with an excellent 7-for-8 (87.5% 2FG) inside the paint.
Just as importantly, he corralled as many as 6 offensive rebounds, tied for second-highest in the Euroleague this season, to boost Real's chances on a night when its long-distance accuracy was missing completely. Its 2-for-22 three-point shooting amounted to just the fourth time in 566 EuroLeague games since 2000 that Real has made less than 10% of its three-point tries.
“We always fight every game and everyone is contributing,” Poirier said to Euroleague.net in the locker room afterward. “We have to attack and the second-chance [opportunities] are very important. Today we made 2 of I don't know how many three-pointers and the offensive rebounds helped us to have confidence and get another shot.”
Stepping up despite absences
Apart from Real's shooting woes, Round 2 MVP forward Guerschon Yabusele missed out on El Clásico through injury and last season's Final Four MVP, center Walter Tavares, played less than 7 minutes after committing 3 fouls in the first half. Poirier stepped into that frontcourt breach splendidly, though.
“Against Barcelona, we know that it’s always like that,” added Poirier. “We have to fight until the last minute. We got the win and for the rest of the season we need games like that, where we’re going to fight until the end, to be focused. This will give us confidence for the rest of the season.”
Head coach Chus Mateo decided to start Poirier in the third quarter and the 30-year-old paid back his boss’s confidence by inspiring Real to a double-digit lead heading into the last 10 minutes. Barca bounced back but it wasn't enough, as Real became the only EuroLeague team to boast a perfect 5-0 record after five rounds.