Real Madrid beat Partizan 86-76, visitors go 3/20 on threes

With four and a half minutes left, Partizan had the ball and Joan Penarroya asked for a challenge: he wanted a foul by Abalde on Carlik Jones punished with three free throws. He did not get it. The whole night at the Movistar Arena came down to that call, because in Madrid the black-and-whites lacked what had been their strongest weapon in the first three rounds of the Euroleague: the three-point shot.

Real Madrid beat Partizan 86-76 (27-19, 26-18, 18-20, 15-19) on Thursday, October 8, in Round 4 of the Euroleague. After three wins, Partizan suffered its first loss of the season and sits fourth in the table at 3-1. Real picked up its first win after three straight defeats.

Where did Partizan lose the game?

The start was even, and Partizan took the lead midway through the first quarter, mostly thanks to Jones. As soon as he sat down, the visitors’ offense lost its rhythm. Real closed the quarter on a 12-3 run, and Feliz hit a three at the buzzer to make it 27-19.

The hosts opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run, and it was 53-37 at halftime. Jones had 12 points by then and Ethan Thompson nine, while Smith led Real with nine and nobody reached double figures.

Partizan came out more aggressively in the second half. Jones hit a three, Thompson, Tanaskovic and Jakiri cut the deficit, and at one point the gap fell into single digits. Real still entered the last quarter up 71-57. Campazzo’s three restored the double-digit lead, and Feliz made it 83-63 for a plus 20. By then Real needed only 12 points in that quarter.

In the closing stretch Partizan used 6-0 and 9-0 runs to cut the gap to ten points, where it stayed with about a minute to play. There was no time for a comeback, and Maledon hit another shot and drew a foul to settle the game.

What do the numbers say?

Partizan shot 3/20 from three, or 15 percent. Before this game it was making 39.4 percent from long range. From the free-throw line it went 17/27, ten misses.

• Carlik Jones: 19 points (7/10 on twos, 1/3 on threes, 2/2 from the line), four rebounds, five assists
• Ethan Thompson: 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists
• Toni Jakiri: 11 points
• Theo Maledon (Real): 13 points, 7/7 from the line, four assists
• Facundo Campazzo (Real): 12 points

According to Danas, this is Partizan’s tenth straight loss in head-to-head games against Real. The last meeting was played in Belgrade and Real won it 77-73, and in the 2022/23 playoffs the Spanish club advanced despite trailing 0-2 in the series, something no team had done before in the history of the competition.

What did Penarroya say after the loss?

At the press conference in Madrid, the Partizan coach first congratulated the hosts, then explained the first half:

“I want to congratulate Real on the win. We knew Real would come in physical, and in the first half they dominated in terms of rhythm and energy. They got easy points, and we were not consistent enough on defense compared with the first three rounds. In the first half we were not at the level we had to be at to win, and that has left consequences for us.”

Penarroya does not consider a ten-point margin a bad result, given his players’ shooting:

“Every game has its own story. I think we fought well in the end, and that is very important for us. We were not close enough to have a real chance to win. A loss by only 10 with these shooting percentages is not a bad result at all. It is very hard to play solidly with percentages like that. I think that says something about our character too, and Real also made us not be as good as we can be tonight.”

On the other side, Real point guard Facundo Campazzo said after the game: “I think we played great defense today.”

What comes next for Partizan and Real?

Partizan plays Vienna in the ABA League on Sunday, and on Tuesday, October 13, it hosts Panathinaikos in Belgrade in Round 5 of the Euroleague. In the same round, Real travels to face Olimpia in Milan.