Real Madrid clinched another win at home and came a step away from the home-court advantage in the playoffs.
The “Whites” rallied past ASVEL Villeurbanne (70-58) and swept the regular season series vs the French club (2-0).
Real Madrid won its second straight game at home and improved to 22-7 in the standings. The hosts have lost only once at Wizink Center this season (15-1). On the other hand, ASVEL has lost eight in a row, dropping to 9-19 on the table.
Under the new standings, and with the Russians teams out of the competition, Real remains second, at 18-6. For its part, ASVEL is at 7-17.
MVP: Rudy Fernandez led the winners in scoring with 17 points. Guerschon Yabusele added 12 points and Vincent Poirier posted a double-double (10 points, 12 boards). On the contrary, Chris Jones had 17 points for ASVEL, while David Lighty added 11.
Key to victory: A 15-2 run early in the fourth helped Real Madrid take control and never look back. The “Whites” outscored the visitors 19-11 in the last 10 minutes of the game to seal the deal.
Next week, ASVEL Villeurbanne will face Zalgiris Kaunas (Wednesday) and Olympiacos (Friday), respectively. For its part, Real Madrid will collide with EuroLeague champions Anadolu Efes (Tuesday) and Maccabi Tel-Aviv (Thursday).
