The Reds forced Los Blancos into 19 turnovers in Wednesday night's win
Olympiacos’s defense set the tone from the off against Real Madrid
Article
3 Mins read
A drop in form saw Olympiacos Piraeus win just two of its last five regular-season games, having conceded 81, 81, 80, 92 and 93 points. In the meantime, heading into Wednesday’s clash, a galloping Real Madrid had won seven of its last eight games, netting 105, 91 and 93 points in their last three victories.
Injuries paid their toll on the Reds, with the aforementioned outings raising concerns ahead of the playoffs. Yet, in the first game of the season where Georgios Bartzokas had all his players at his disposal, Olympiacos showed defensive strength from the off to strangle Real Madrid’s offense.
Los Blancos ended the first half with a season-high 13 turnovers, finishing the game with 19 - the most in club history in a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoff game. Olympiacos’s defense recorded 7 steals in the first 20 minutes alone and finished the game with 9. More importantly, Bartzokas’s side made the most of those errors by netting 21 points off turnovers, which translated into one-fourth of the team’s points on the night (84).
Olympiacos kept Real Madrid to just 29 points in the first half, laying the foundation for a hard-fought Game 1 win by taking an 18-point lead into the third quarter.
“Our defense in the first half was solid and we set the tone by winning by 18 points at halftime and then we managed to win the game without being really in danger,” Bartzokas told EuroLeague TV after the game.
Indeed, Olympiacos maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half despite Real Madrid winning each of the last two quarters (17-22, 20-21).
“When we played with really good speed and physicality, things really worked well for us,” Thomas Walkup, who returned from a three-and-a-half-month absence, said in the post-game press conference. “We played with good physicality on defense. They ended with 72 points, that’s a great number for such an offensively talented team.”
Game Videos
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Nikola Milutinov: 'We have to stay humble'
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Sasha Vezenkov: 'Real Madrid will come ready to play in Game 2'
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Real Madrid | PO Game-1 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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McKissic skies for a ferocious slam! Motorola Magic Moment
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Fall detonates the dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
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Milutinov rocks the rim! Motorola Magic Moment
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Mario Hezonja: 'We can do great things'
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Real Madrid-FC Bayern Munich | Play-In Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Campazzo’s creative magic! Motorola Magic Moment
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Real teamwork from Madrid! Motorola Magic Moment
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Walter Tavares, March-April MVP: ‘It’s hard these days to be a big man’
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Real Madrid-Paris Basketball | Play-In Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Tavares dunks in transition! Motorola Magic Moment
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Walter Tavares: 'This is a gift from God'
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Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade-Real Madrid | RS Round 34 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Moses Wright: 'It's great to be back on the court'
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 34 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Tavares wins it with his soft touch! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 00:09
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Hezonja rocks the rim with aplomb! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:17
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A huge dunk by Tavares! Motorola Magic Moment
- 01:37
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Alec Peters: 'Career high, but what's sticking with me are the zero rebounds'
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ALBA Berlin-Olympiacos Piraeus | RS Round 33 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Mario Hezonja: 'Every time there is a challenge, we respond'
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Real Madrid-Paris Basketball | RS Round 33 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Hezonja's reverse dunk! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
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Ibaka's double block! Motorola Magic Moment
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Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade-Real Madrid | RS Round 32 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Hezonja with an almighty dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
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Olympiacos Piraeus-AS Monaco | RS Round 32 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Real Madrid-EA7 Emporio Armani Milan | RS Round 31 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne-Olympiacos Piraeus | RS Round 31 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Hezonja with the reverse slam! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:35
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Llull does what he does best! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:13
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Facu magic! Motorola Magic Moment
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EuroLeague 25 Moments: Olympiacos and its historic 2012 comeback
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Walter Tavares: 'Real Madrid means winning'
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Real Madrid-LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne | RS Round 30 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Gonzalez's big block! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
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Llull hits the mandarina! Motorola Magic Moment
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade | RS Round 30 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Sasha Vezenkov: 'We want titles, not wins'
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens | RS Round 29 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Vezenkov’s magic dish! Motorola Magic Moment
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Fall rejects Grant! Motorola Magic Moment
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Facundo Campazzo: 'It's a perfect week for Real Madrid'
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Viritus Segafredo Bologna-Real Madrid | RS Round 29 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Sasha Vezenkov: 'Kendrick Nunn is a great player and great person'
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade | RS Round 28 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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McKissic rocks the rim! Motorola Magic Moment
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Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens-Real Madrid | RS Round 28 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
Yet, history has proved that a win in Game 1 anything but seals qualification to the Final Four. In fact, Olympiacos won its first games against AS Monaco, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and FC Barcelona in each of the last three season’s playoffs but lost all three Game 2s, with each of the series going to a nail-biting Game 5.
“A five-game series is short,” Walkup added. “So, to start off well… we’ve done it. We had really good energy from the crowd tonight. The challenge is Game 2. Game 1 was great, we won it and now it’s behind us already. The last three years, we won Game 1, but we’ve lost Game 2.”
And Real Madrid is no newcomer in the EuroLeague. The Spanish powerhouse has been there before and bounced back in style against Panathinaikos Athens in the 2017-18 Playoffs. The Greens thrashed Los Blancos 95-67 at OAKA in Game 1, but Pablo Laso’s team hadn’t said the last word. Not only did Real Madrid prevail in Game 2, but they won three in a row to clinch a spot in the Final Four and then went all the way to the trophy led by a certain Luka Doncic.
“The playoffs are always a battle,” Bartzokas said in the press conference. “It’s about the day, the approach, the physicality you present to the court.”
With Game 2 scheduled for Friday, Olympiacos’s first-half defense could serve as a springboard in its bid to make the most of its home-court advantage.
“[In Game 2] we have to impose our rhythm, especially in front of these amazing fans, and then we can make it 2-0,” Nikola Milutinov told EuroLeague TV after the game.
Real Madrid showed in the second half of Wednesday’s game that it has what it takes to fight back and upset the Reds. But the hosts also demonstrated that they boast the defensive prowess to contain any opponent, especially at a buzzing Peace and Friendship Stadium.