The second unit stepped up in Round 17, which is a great sign for Los Blancos going forward
Real Madrid's depth stopped Monaco
Real Madrid showed its best version in Round 17, downing AS Monaco 94-72 at home. After dropping to 6-9, Real had to face the competition's first-place team in consecutive games and in them defeated Paris Basketball and then Monaco.
Los Blancos relied on great depth to win the game on a night in which star center Walter Tavares was limited to 2 points and a career-low PIR of -5. Coach Chus Mateo did not worry, however, as his second unit stepped up throughout the game to lead Real to a good-as-gold victory.
Real's bench players combined for 51 points and 27 rebounds, and that allowed the hosts to outrebound Monaco 41-29. By comparison, Monaco's second unit only contributed 22 points and 18 rebounds.
Facu Campazzo came off the bench midway through the first quarter and made the difference with his court vision and shooting accuracy. In less than 16 minutes, he had 12 points, 4 assists and 5 fouls drawn for a PIR of 21, missing just one shot.
Usman Garuba also made the most of his 15 minutes on the court, getting 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 4 fouls drawn for a PIR of 17. Garuba came off the bench to play center and also was seen alongside Serge Ibaka, who had 5 points and 4 rebounds.
Mario Hezonja came off the bench against Monaco for just the fifth time this season, providing instant offense and finishing the game with 13 points and 5 rebounds for a PIR of 15.
Real shot the ball well in the first half (57.9% 2FG, 54.5% 3FG) and outrebounded Monaco 25-12, also getting 14 first-half assists. That led to a 53-35 halftime lead and Los Blancos did not look back after that.
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"We played against a team that only had 4-5 defeats, and it was difficult to face them because they got very, very good players. But we did a good job on defense. We know that if we play good on defense, if we do like we did today in one-on-one [situations] and rebounding like we did, we have the option to to win every game against whoever," Coach Mateo said after the game. "But we need to play with the same concentration that we showed today."