Džanan Musa and Real Madrid Celebrate in a Packed Belgrade Arena

(Patria) - The third game of the Euroleague quarter-final series between Partizan and Real Madrid was played in Belgrade tonight, ending with a 82:80 victory for the visitors. The Spanish team is back in the series, now trailing 2:1, and Partizan will have a second match point on Thursday.

Much has been written about this game, after a major brawl between players of both teams erupted in the previous one, causing the match to end 100 seconds before its scheduled conclusion.

The black-and-whites won that game 95:80, taking a commanding 2:0 lead in the quarter-final series. Tonight, they had their first match point to advance to the Final Four in Kaunas. Partizan had to play without their two best players, Punter and Lessort, while the visitors from Madrid were also missing the suspended Deck and Yabusele.

A great battle ensued until the very end tonight. Such a scenario was expected, and Real had no right to another loss, but Partizan, even weakened, with the support of their fantastic fans, played excellently and was a team that had a lot to say on the court.

Partizan opened the game with a 12:0 run, and Real seemed stunned in those moments. At one point, they had a maximum lead of 15 points. Partizan won the first quarter 32:19, but Real was more successful in the second, with a score of 26:16.

Thus, the team from Madrid managed to reduce the deficit to three points by halftime, and in the third quarter, they managed to take the lead. Real led 58:55, but Partizan knew how to respond.

With points from Džanan Musa, Real took a 62:58 lead with two minutes left in the third quarter. The final 10 minutes began with Real leading 66:63, which meant we were in for a lot of excitement in the last quarter.

With 3:10 left, Partizan took a 77:75 lead with a three-pointer from Nunnally, setting the stage for a dramatic finish. Then, Rudy Fernandez was called for an offensive foul, but Partizan failed to capitalize on the possession to extend their lead; instead, Tavares scored to make it 77:77. Partizan was helped by an awful three-point attempt from Hezonja.

LeDay missed an open two-point shot, but after an offensive rebound, another miss from the home team's forward. All of this happened with 58 seconds left. William-Goss hit a three-pointer for the Real Madrid victory. There was still a bit of drama; Partizan had a possession to tie or win, but the score remained 82:80 for the visitors.

Tavares shone for Real with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while former Partizan player Williams-Goss added 22 points, Hezonja 10, and Džanan Musa nine, with six rebounds and four assists. Smailagić scored 15 points for the other side, as did LeDay, with Nunnally adding 13.

Real has reduced the series deficit to 2:1, and Partizan has their second match point at home on Thursday. A potential deciding game will be played in Madrid on May 9th.